TURTLENECK PHANTASIES

Turtleneck Phantasies tells the story of a German writer who worked as a sailor on cargo ships and later, after a shipwreck, spent over 30 years in psychiatric institutions tattooing his fellow inmates. The film combines historical accounts with personal memories, merging the documentary and fiction. This results in a complex work that seemingly incidentally, yet excitingly and often tragicomically sketch the state of a society, representing remembrances of suppressed, unheard, and forgotten voices.

There are many moments in Wieland's films - one might call this the lexical "other" - in which the use of the third person depicts the characters on the verge of disappearing, and shows them pushing forward powerfully and in an unforgettable way, testifying to a general experience of otherness.