The Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, 69, makes unconventional films that have always been controversial: for their aesthetics of the ugly, and the hybrid form with flowing transitions between documentary and feature film. His work “Sparta” has its German premiere at the Hamburg Film Festival on Wednesday. Seidl has been there for a few weeks because of this film after research by mirror confronted with allegations concerning the production conditions in Romania. There is talk of neglecting the child actors’ duty of care and of a lack of information and exploitation of the Romanian employees. “Sparta” is the second film in Seidl’s project “Bosse Spiele”, the first part of which “Rimini” will be released in cinemas this week.
Ulrich Seidl in an interview: “What I experience is damage to my reputation” – culture
