Paulus Manker and “Clairvoyants” live in the studio; afterwards: “Images of women – counter images: The artists of Viennese modernism” – on March 4th from 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The “kulturMontag” presented by Peter Schneeberger on March 4, 2024 at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2 addresses, among other things, the abuse of power in the cultural industry, which is once again discussed in a recently published TV documentary. The affected theater and film director Paulus Manker comments on this in the studio. The Austrian world-class mental magician duo Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass, who are successful in the USA under the name “Clairvoyants” and now also live there, will also be a live guest, but will still be presenting their latest program in their homeland of Lower Austria. In the studio they give a sample of their “enchanting” skills. On the occasion of the upcoming International Women’s Day (details on the ORF focus at presse.ORF.at), the cultural magazine is also putting the spotlight on brilliant but underestimated female composers in music history. Afterwards, the topic-related documentary “Images of Women – Counter-Images: The Artists of Viennese Modernism” (11:25 p.m.) by Barbara Weissenbeck will also be on the program.
Because they (don’t) know what they are doing – abuse of power in the cultural sector
Since “MeToo” and the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the issue of abuse of power has been an open secret, and not just in the film business. Those affected also describe a climate of fear in the theater and paint a picture of a toxic working atmosphere characterized by verbal, violent and even sexist attacks. In the film and theater scene, which thrives on the so-called “cult of genius” and the magnetic effect of its stars, the power imbalance is great. “Against Silence” is the name of a new German TV documentary that addresses the abuse of power in the cultural sector. The two investigative journalists Kira Gantner and Zita Zengerling spent three years researching and speaking to more than 200 people affected. Even if the experiences and situations are of different nature, the system behind them appears to use similar mechanisms. Serious allegations are made in the documentary against the Austrian directors Paulus Manker and Julian Pölsler, among others. Manker, who caused a sensation around the globe with his “Alma – A Show Biz to the End”, is accused of verbally and physically violent behavior by ex-employees. Pölsler, known for his Marlen Haushofer film adaptation “Die Wand”, the “Polt” crime novels and currently the “Altaussee crime novels” on ServusTV, is accused of lewd and sexualized border crossings. “kulturMontag” spoke to those affected and examined the central question of the documentary: how much responsibility perpetrators bear and how much responsibility lies with colleagues, donors, production companies, broadcasters and the audience. In a conversation with Peter Schneeberger, Paulus Manker comments on the allegations for the first time live in the studio.
An enchanting, magical duo – the mentalists Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass
They are world champions of mental magic, took second place in the renowned “America’s Got Talent” show and, under the name “The Clairvoyants” – the clairvoyants – have so far enchanted an audience of millions between Las Vegas and Broadway with their program “Twice the Magic”. and St. Pölten. Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass are mentioned in the same breath as David Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy, who discovered the magical couple for their shows. Only a few Austrians before them have had such a picture-perfect career. Although they have moved their center of life to Las Vegas and have now exchanged vows there, they have remained loyal to their homeland of Lower Austria. So it’s no surprise that the world premiere of the new program “Three times magical” is taking place today, March 1st, in St. Pölten. Peter Schneeberger welcomes the couple to the studio, talks about their beginnings on the ORF show “The Big Chance”, their successes, their life between Las Vegas, Krems and the rest of the world and explains their witch basics live on “kulturMontag”. the sample.
For International Women’s Day: Brilliant and underestimated – female composers in focus
Mozart, Mahler, Verdi, Strauss, Bach and Beethoven – they are on the schedules of opera and concert halls all over the world. Their female colleagues, on the other hand, still lead a shadowy existence, as the programs are still male-dominated. Musicologist Arno Lücker is wrong and puts 250 female composers in the spotlight in his new book. Of course there were women who defied the leading odds of their times and wrote music, but they mostly remained in the background. Ignored during his lifetime, often overlooked in music history – and by the music market anyway. If you ignore the discovery of Clara Schumann or Fanny Mendelssohn – as exceptions that confirm the rule – there were no female masters. For his book, Lücker, who composes himself, delved deep into the archives of music history and brings the women to the fore in short portraits. He spans the period from the Byzantine era to the present. “kulturMontag” invites the composers Katharina Klement and Keren Kagarlitsky to talk and explore the question of what it takes for their previously unheard music to be heard more often.
For International Women’s Day: Documentary “Images of Women – Counter-Images: The Artists of Viennese Modernism”
Vienna around 1900: art and intellectual life develop in an almost explosive manner. Shortly before the fall of the Dual Monarchy, their metropolis flaunts and shows off revolutionary architecture and music, and new discoveries in science and philosophy. The most important artists of Viennese modernism to date form the triumvirate of Klimt-Kokoschka-Schiele. And the female artists of those years? They do courageous pioneering work, fight to emancipate themselves – and yet are often doomed to failure because men boycott and discriminate against them. Barbara Weissenbeck’s documentary portrays those who have been unjustly forgotten and tells largely very personal stories of the struggle for recognition in a male-dominated art world. The film sketches a complex and ambivalent picture of society at the time.