TV Documentary
Austrian TV documentary on some of Styria's most iconic characters, such as Drag King Liam ChoClit. Filmed by Feuer&Flamme Film for ORF.
Author:
Feuer&Flamme Film, ORF
Read:
47 min. Watch Time
Location:
Graz
Date:




Series Launch: Documentary Film Weites Land: Steiermark (Vast Country: Styria)
The Styrians are said to be particularly joyful. Graz enchants with its almost Mediterranean flair. And the people of Altaussee aren't really Styrians at all – they're practically a breed apart. Clichés are meant to be disproven, yet they so often reveal a kernel of truth. In a new episode of her (land) survey of the Austrian soul, director Jennifer Rezny explores what makes Austria's "green heart" beat faster and where its depths lie. Along the way, she encounters fascinating contemporaries and locals.

Liam, A Styrian Boy
Jennifer Rezny invites you to a rendezvous with event manager Lisa. In her free time, she transforms not into a queen, but into a king – the drag king Liam, to be precise. Even as a child, she enjoyed slipping into male roles. She believes that gender stereotypes still prevail in Styria, along the lines of: men are macho and women can't drive. This is something she challenges with her fluid approach to gender identities.




Other Protagonists
Paul had his own encounter with 007 in Altaussee, the very place where a famous Bond villain – Klaus Maria Brandauer, to be precise – grew up. He runs a converted hunting lodge, now a guesthouse, right on the lake, where a scene for the film "Spectre" with Daniel Craig was filmed. The people of Altaussee are proud, but that's not a bad thing: "We make sure we enjoy ourselves here and that what God has given us remains beautiful." DeeLinde and her family can communicate without words: they yodel, which is a primal expression of the Austrian soul – and, of course, especially the Styrian one. The family lives in Johnsbach in the Gesäuse region and observes significant differences in mentality within the area: "For the people of Altaussee, we're 'down there,' the Lower Styrians. They do look down on us a bit." DeeLinde and her family can communicate without words: they yodel, which is a primal expression of the Austrian soul – and, naturally, especially the Styrian one. The most famous Styrian in this edition of "Weites Land" is Thomas Spitzer, mastermind of EAV, a gifted graphic artist, and possessed of a tongue sharper and faster than a rapier. He lives with his partner Nora in Feldbach, southeast of Graz. He considers the Styrian metropolis his cultural home. In Austria, especially in Styria, he perceives a society of envy: "We have it too good." He isn't exactly kind to himself: he describes himself as a stubborn Styrian, gluttonous, drunken, and unreasonable. He then adds, somewhat softeningly, "but still lovable." When asked what Styria smells like, he replies earthily: "Like a manure heap." In the southernmost part of Styria, near the border with Slovenia, lives 82-year-old retired biology and chemistry teacher and mushroom expert Heinz-Detlef. In his opinion, the Styrians are "good thinkers, innovative, easygoing and sometimes a bit stupid, but they don't let anyone push them around."

