Director confirms: – “Never would a project have been made from Kurz’s pen”

It was rumored that the giant poster advertising the short documentary about Vienna’s Donaustadtbrücke was paid for by Sebastian Kurz’s job. The money for this comes entirely from the marketing budget of the German production company Opus R GmbH, which also acts as a distributor. The advertising budget is also “not huge,” Köllnreitner told krone.at.

According to producer Michael Reisch, the poster cost a rough estimate of 15,000 euros. The director explained that it was decided to hang many small or one large poster, and in consultation with the production and distributor, it was decided to use the banner as high as a house to achieve a “big impact”.

There’s no doubt about it: there was a lot of speculation on Twitter on the subject, which just says “Short” in large letters, with the ex-chancellor below, his shadow in a different pose than himself. Sebastian Kurz activated Austria, explains director Köllnreitner. The poster articulates a two-sided game: “Is it a facade, isn’t it a facade?”

There were also a lot of rumors about the cost of the film – in the trailer it looks very complex and expensive. As a director, he was “out of budget”, but the film cost “definitely less than 500,000 euros” – less than “Project Ballhausplatz”, Kurt Langbein’s competing film for 585,000 euros. Producer Michael Reisch does not give more precise figures either.

About the financing, Reisch says that the German Opus R GmbH pre-financed the film, Pongo Film only made its own contributions and no financial resources. Investors were brought in who had no connection to Sebastian Kurz, Reisch claims.

‘ÖVP would not be happy’
Short-term investors or the ÖVP would probably “not be happy to see this film,” says the producer, because it would require him to have a clear list, which he just doesn’t have. Director Köllnreitner also confirms: ‘I would never have done a project written by Kurz or the ÖVP.’ After all, he also had a reputation to lose as a filmmaker.

It was rather “annoying” to get Sebastian Kurz on camera and at some point I stopped believing it would work, says Reisch. It was quite difficult for Kurz himself because he had rarely been filmed in such personal situations before, according to krone.at from the ex-chancellor’s circle. That’s unusual even for a media-savvy man. A spokesperson emphasizes that there was no financial or substantive involvement.

Interview partner lied?
With regard to the allegations that some key players were brought on camera by falsely telling them that the documentary was for a major streaming provider, the director and producer explain that negotiations were actually taking place with streamers at the time the interview requests were made. However, a different decision was made then, as the investors believed that the film could also work in the cinema – this is a normal process.

The fact that producer Michael Reich is a member of the Tyrolean Economic Association, a sub-organization of the ÖVP, explains that he wants to be involved in the Tyrolean trade association in the future. “I could have gone to the green economy,” he adds laconically.