Oliviero Toscani – Rage of Images
Documentary co-author Peter Scharf, ´43, WDR; WDR/arte, SRF, ´52, 2010
About the Film
Who doesn’t remember the large-format advertising poster with the blood-soaked T-shirt of a Croatian soldier with the green “United Colors of Benetton” logo at the bottom left of the picture? Or the oversized “No Anorexia” posters showing an anorexic model that were put up for the 2007 fashion fair in Milan? Or the nun kissing a priest? Or the black woman with the white baby on her breast? War, anorexia, celibacy, AIDS and racism – socially controversial topics captured in images that were hotly debated all over the world.
They were all created by Oliviero Toscani, the pioneer of targeted anti-advertising. His aggressive, politically incorrect advertising photography caused outcries both aesthetically and in terms of content. This so-called “reverse psychology marketing” challenges the recipients’ intelligence and awareness of problems instead of simply advertising the products. It is not a seducer, but an enlightener – and yet is committed to the large corporations. Would Toscani be just as controversial and disturbing if his photos had only been shown in the world’s major museums? Is it the public, the street, the city, the internet that opens up the space for confrontation in the first place?
The film shows Toscani’s self-reflections on his work and his critics. We take a look at his biography and look over his shoulder as he creates current works – including the long-term project “Razza Umana/Italia”, which he has been working on for two years together with his son Rocco and employees of his “Think Tank” La Sterpaia.
Credits
| Script/Director: | Katja Duregger and Peter Scharf |
| Director of Photography: | Steffen Bohn, Bernd Weber |
| Sound: | Hank Trede, Tim Pattberg |
| Film editing: | Oliver Held |
| Mix: | Chris Glade |
| Line Producer: | Monika Mack |
| Commissioning Editor: | Sabine Rollberg, WDR/Arte |
| Production: | Bildersturm Filmproduktion |
| Producer: | Birgit Schulz |
| Duration: | 52´30 Min. |
| Year of production: | 2010 |
Festivals:
- Asolo Art Film Festival 2010, Edizione XXIX, Asolo, Italy
- International Film Festival of Fine Arts 2010, Szolnok, Hungary
- 19th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2010, Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
- UNAFF — United Nations Associations Film Festival 2010, Stanford, USA
- DOC FEST 2010 — Documentary Film Festival, Rome, Italy
- CAMERA OBSCURA 2010- Reportage Art Festival, Bydgoszcz, Poland
- FIFA 2011 — 29th International Festival of Films and Art, Montreal, Canada
- Artecinema 2011 — Festival Internazionale di Film sull´Arte, Neapel, Italy
- Plus Camerimage 2011 — International Film Festival, Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Reel Artists Film Festival 2012, Toronto, Canada
- ARTLOOP Festival 2012, Sopot, Poland