by Jan Peter Hammer, 2010, 29'
| WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Jan Peter Hammer | CAMERA: Ingolf Rech, Martin Hoffmann | |
| BASED ON THE NOVEL: The anaschist banker by Fernando Pessoa | SOUND: Christian Schossig | |
| AUDIO MIXING: Konterfei, Urs Hauck | ||
| FILM ADAPTATION: Ana Teixeira Pinto | MUSIC: Niels Lorenz | |
| STARRING: John Quincy Long, Tomas Spencer | POSTPRODUCTION: Fubbi.com |
Presented at The Screen of the Arts 2010Based on Fernando Pessoa’s 1922 novel, Jan Peter Hammer’s video reinterprets the story in a contemporary key, revisiting the characters and readapting the dialogs. After the financial crash of 2008, journalist Dave Hill interviews a noted financier, the director of a bank which was forced to ask for a government bailout to avoid bankruptcy. “Visionary or Shark?” Hall asks, upon introducing his guest, whose name is the translation of Artur Alves dos Reis (the financier who inspired Pessoa), perpetrator of a scam that bankrupted the Portuguese government, which contributed to the fall of the First Republic and ushered the dictatorship into office. Against the fictitious backdrop of the TV talk show Interview Hour, the interview’s apparently colloquial tone shiftts into a subtle, complex contest of logic and psychology, which, through the attempt to define the banker’s identity and character, sees different world-views incarnated by the protagonists (played by the actors John Quincy Long and Tomas Spencer). Through personal anecdotes and accounts of his private life, Ashenking confronts the contradiction of his chosen profession and his avowed anarchist ideals, clearly arguing his own personal vision.
Jan Peter Hammer
Born in Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany. Professionally developed in the fields of painting and sculpture, he moved to New York in 1999, where he lived till 2004, attending courses at the New School’s Film Theory Department and graduating in Fine Arts at Hunter College. He lives and works in Berlin.
Among his recent one-man shows: 2004 Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York; 2006 Galerie Meerrettich, Berlino; 2010 Supportico Lopez, Berlino.
Selected Filmography
2007 Der Ausflug (The Getaway), 9:10 min, Super16; 2007 wachbleiben (stay awake) 8:16 min, Super16; 2009 Wormhole, 32 min, HD slideshow, stereo; 2010 The Anarchist Banker, 28:30 min, HD video, stereo.
www.jphammer.de