SPORTSDAY

Short Talk with August Adrian Braatz (director)

Slovenia / 2023 / 22’50’’

BEST FICTION FILM Category

21st IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2024

Synopsis: LUCIAN (13) would like to fit in. He doesn’t want to be ridiculed, so he decides to go skiing for sports day, even though he can’t ski at all. One lie leads to another, and finally to a flurry of untruths that put Lucian in an unbearable situation he can’t escape from.

Biography: August Adrian Braatz was born in Berlin in 1993. He graduated in film directing at Ljubljana Academy AGRFT. During his studies, he directed short films “Laughter” (2015) and "Robbed Soul” (special mention at the LIFFE-International film festival of Directing).

Between 2019 and 2021 he directed and self-produced experimental short films: “The Vacation”, “Separation-19” and “Future Nostalgia”. All successfully travelled to festivals. He also works as a music composer. His musical credits, among others, include two feature films: Good Day's Work by M. Turk (premiere Busan IFF 2018) and Familienleben by R. H. Ziegler (premiere Berlinale-Panorama 2018).

August Adrian Braatz, Director

Raya Hristova (author): How important and how hard is it for the kids to fit in their social gatherings, if they don't think they belong there?

August Adrian Braatz (director): While researching and auditioning for this film, I mean looking for the right kid, a I found out that this happens a lot and it's also autobiographical story, I couldn't ski and I decided to do this and then I learned how to ski, because I didn't want to feel ashamed. In Slovenia skiing is a national sport and you kind of must do it. So, I was just wondering always like why I went so much against myself to fit in, to lie to everybody and then just translated it into today's world with social media, where the pressure is so much bigger and with the videos that can go viral. I think that the need to be cool today is as big as it was ever. I think it should be okay that you choose something which is not popular, it's always going to be that some things or some people are cool, and you want to be with them, or not, or you just accept that you're an outsider. I think you should follow yourself.

Emil, the kid in the movie, he's amazing, he was so dedicated, he was like a kid who wants to be a filmmaker, so he wanted to be an assistant, cameraman, sound guy, everything. He actually told me on the audition that this happened to him while ice skating. The first question to everybody on the audition was “Do you know how to ski?”, my producer said we will take one, which knows how to ski and he convinced me that he can. And then on the last day of shooting, we already had five days of shooting done, at the last scene or like three scenes till the end, he breaks down we on the ski slope and I went to him and asked: “What's going on?” and he said: “I don't know how to ski” and I was like: “Really? I tried to avoid this you know, like this not a documentary”. So, all of this anxiety and everything that he went through and showed on the camera were real. I didn't want to do that, but he convinced me, like the kid convinces all the others, because he wanted to be in the film.

Raya Hristova (author): You also talk about the theme of bullying and posting videos of this sort on
the internet. What advice would you give to the others about the mean comments on the Internet or
videos like this?

August Adrian Braatz (director): Don't listen to this, don’t read the comments, but we all do, so it's just in theory “ignore and be you”, this is the hardest. So, try to accept that we are all different and weird.

Author's View:

In the 21st century, the internet plays a particularly important role, one could even say that the new generation is being raised on what they see on social media. And, however you look at it, we are dependent on the opinions of those around us. We adjust to others, often take into account their views than our own and do what it takes to fit. Our character here is proof of that. To join the collective, to become part of it, he chooses to sign up for skiing, although he does not know how to ski, and does not want to learn, to be honest, but he follows the example of others and chooses to participate in this sport. And this, of course, does not lead to anything good.

It also shows the problem of hate and bullying on the Internet. In recent years, a lot of it has been poured out there. With a light hand people write whatever they want, leave countless negative comments, mock others and criticize every little thing. We, as a generation growing up on the Internet, have access to too much information and resource, which also forces us to “live for others”. 

SPORTS DAY reminds us of something very important, namely to be ourselves, to be individuals, to do what our hearts truly desire and not seek the the approval and validation of others. Through a simple and resonant story, inspired by autobiographical events, we see the casus from the outside, which allows us to consider how worthless it is to try to adjust to others. Isn't this the first necessary step in learning to accept oneself?