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Sparta (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Sparta' is a 2022 drama film directed by Ulrich Seidl. It depicts an Austrian man named Ewald who is a non-offending pedophile and teaches judo to boys in Romania. The film is the second in a diptych; the other film, 'Rimini', centres on Ewald's brother.

On 2 September 2022, 'Der Spiegel' published allegations by crew members, child actors, and their guardians that children were exploited on set and that their guardians were not sufficiently informed about the film's subject. The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was scheduled to have its world premiere, cancelled the screenings in light of the allegations. It premiered in competition at the 70th San Sebastin International Film Festival on 18 September 2022.

Cast



* Georg Friedrich as Ewald

* Florentina Elena Pop

* Hans-Michael Rehberg as Father

* Marius Ignat

* Octavian-Nicolae Cocis

Production



'Rimini' and 'Sparta' were originally written and shot as one film, and were split into two during the post-production. 'Sparta' was filmed in Germany, Austria, and Romania. Filming in Romania took place in the winter of 20182019 and the summer of 2019. The primary location was the village of Baba Novac, Ardud, near the city of Satu Mare in northern Romania.

Allegations of child exploitation

On 2 September 2022, 'Der Spiegel' published a report of allegations of child exploitation during the production of 'Sparta' in Romania, based on interviews with "dozens" of crew members, nine of whom were present on set in Romania, nine local non-professional actors, seven of whom were underage, and "the guardians of eight children involved in the movie". The allegations include that actors and their parents were not informed that the film addressed pedophilia or that some of them would perform in their underwear, that child actors were often filmed without their knowledge, and that parents and two teachers hired to oversee the children were denied entry to the set.

A ten-year-old boy was cast as a character who, in one scene, is told to drink alcohol and caressed by two drunk men, the filming of which led him to cry and vomit. Several workers told 'Der Spiegel' that they were aware that the boy had an abusive alcoholic father, and one claimed that Seidl cast him in the role specifically because of his background. Two workers claimed that an assistant director forcibly removed clothes off a boy on set. Another boy told 'Der Spiegel' that he was in a scene with Friedrich in the shower while Friedrich was naked and shaving his pubic hair, and that he was asked if he wanted to take off his underwear too. A local man, who gets aggressive when he drinks in his own admission, told 'Der Spiegel' that he was offered alcohol by the crew before performing in a scene in which he grabs a boy by his ear, and that Seidl told him to do so harder after a take. According to 'Der Spiegel', in Romania, parents are required to contact authorities and get approval from a pediatrician and a psychologist before allowing their children to be in a film, and neither the parents of actors in 'Sparta' nor the head of Seidl's production said they were aware of these requirements.

A former assistant to Seidl told the 'Berliner Zeitung' that she was not informed of what the film would be about when she was tasked with recruiting actors in Satu Mare and that she resigned after Seidl's answers remained vague after passing along inquiries from Romanian families.

On 23 July 2019, Satu Mare police received a tip that "various acts of violence" had been inflicted on children during the production of a film in Baba Novac. They launched an investigation, which was closed in February 2022. The final report included testimonies from six minors that they did not experience harassment during the production. Days after the publication of the 'Spiegel' article, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) of Satu Mare County started investigations.

In response to the 'Spiegel' article, Seidl issued a statement that said, "incorrect descriptions, rumors and events on the set of 'Sparta' taken out of context have been woven into a distorted picture that in no way corresponds to the facts ... I have the greatest respect for all my actors and would never take a decision that could in any way endanger their physical and psychological wellbeing." Seidl said that "[t]he young actors were under constant supervision" and that he "explained all the essential elements of the film to the parents in numerous one-on-one conversations (with an interpreter) prior to shooting", including "the ambivalence of the character of Ewald" and "his relationship to children".

On 10 September 2022, 'Profil' published an article by film critic Stefan Grissemann featuring quotes from Seidl's collaborators. Assistant director and production manager Klaus Pridnig and cinematographer Wolfgang Thaler said Seidl builds trust and works respectfully with his actors, and expressed scepticism towards the allegations. Pridnig said, "Everyone knew what 'Sparta' was about. We of course informed all parents about this, and of course made it clear that no child would be confronted with sexuality or violence in any way." He said young women working in Romanian theatre and film, who were responsible for casting, accompanied the shooting as carers. Pridnig, production designer Andreas Donhauser, and costume designer Tanja Hausner said young actors had an amicable environment on set.

On 13 September 2022, 'Falter' published further allegations based on six people involved in the production of 'Sparta' and 'Rimini'. A Romanian casting assistant, who also worked on set as an interpreter, confirmed that she was instructed not to reveal the subject of pedophilia during casting. She also said she was appointed a child carer mid-production despite her lack of pedagogical training. Another crew member claimed that a car driven by Friedrich with seven children hit a post and was damaged during filming, without stunt performers or safety precautions, though no one was injured. A boy with a high fever was allegedly not allowed to go home for hours in case Seidl needed him. A Romanian-speaking worker involved in pre-production said the filmmakers were specifically seeking boys from broken families.

On 17 September 2022, 'Profil' published another article quoting key crew members. Production manager Steven Swirko said that Seidl explained the details of the film to actors' parents, but not to the actors themselves "because they were never directly affected by [pedophilia] during filming" and "everything happens inside the main character". Swirko said that the two carers were on set every day and that parents were always present "during the exterior shooting, which mostly took place at the children's actual homes". Swirko denied that a feverish boy was left uncared for, and said the crew took him to a doctor and his family expressed gratitude. He also disputed the alleged details of the car accident and said it was a metal rod on the ground, Friedrich never lost control, and the car only took minor damage. Monika Willi, editor of the diptych, said she saw no evidence of impropriety in the footage she assembled the films from.

Describing Seidl's directorial method, cinematographer Serafin Spitzer, who replaced Thaler for the summer shoot, told 'Profil' that Seidl shoots with a small crew, allowing only the essential members on set, in order to achieve as much concentration and camera coverage as possible, and that he prefers to isolate sections of his crew rather than make them collaborate and share information with each other. Spitzer said that, shooting long takes amid intense heat, and often having to react to the situation for the first time, he had to work with the assumption "that all participants were well informed about the project and knew what extreme situation they were getting into", which he said "concerns [him] very much" in retrospect. Spitzer added, "The fact no team member knew the entire scenic content and no one was allowed to talk about it even after the camera was turned off inevitably led to different and severely limited perceptions", and thus finds it difficult for him "to determine today which allegations are actually true".

Release



'Sparta' was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2022, but the festival cancelled all five screenings, including press and industry screenings, the day before the premiere in light of the allegations reported by 'Der Spiegel'. A festival representative said, "'Sparta' had been scheduled to premiere in TIFF's Contemporary World Cinema section, but given these allegations, we will no longer present the film. We consider Mr. Seidl to be an important contemporary filmmaker and we look forward to further clarity being brought to the issues of the film's production raised by 'Der Spiegel'."

The film was also selected to compete at the 70th San Sebastin International Film Festival, where it premiered on 18 September 2022. In the wake of the allegations, festival director Jos Luis Rebordinos said that the festival was not in a position to judge how a film was made or whether a crime was committed in the process, and that only a court order that establishes it would lead the festival to cancel a screening. Ahead of the festival opening, Rebordinos said, "We cannot allow the presumption of guilt to replace that of innocence and intervene in the decision whether or not to program a film", adding that a "true moralist epidemic" was threatening freedom of expression. Seidl and Friedrich were to attend the premiere as of 12 September, but Seidl cancelled the attendance the day before the premiere, stating, "my presence at the premiere could overshadow the reception of the film".

A German premiere is set to take place on 5 October 2022 at the Filmfest Hamburg, which will also screen 'Rimini'. The festival originally planned to present its annual Douglas Sirk Award to Seidl, which it rescinded. The festival explained that the plan to award him the prize had been made before the allegations surfaced and was retracted because the allegations "would overshadow an award ceremony", and that it would proceed with the screening because "[t]he accusations against Ulrich Seidl are directed against the conditions during the shooting and explicitly not against his film".

The film is scheduled to be released in Austria in the spring of 2023.

References




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