Here's a bit more on the film, if anyone is interested! I for one am really excited!

De Grosse Stille

As a viewer, one often does not understand right away what the monks are doing.
That's fine with me! My film does not have to answer all the questions. If it arouses the viewer's interest, he can
go into the Internet afterwards and do some research on his own. Today, we're literally flooded with information.
What's missing ñ and what one must find out on one's own ñ is the meaning of things. My film also wants to be
a film about the viewer himself, about his perceptions, his thoughts. He should focus on himself. It is also a film
about contemplation. Just think: on average, the monks spend 65 years of their life there ñ 65 years in which they
carry out the same rituals day after day. I cannot explain the meaning of this to any viewer, and one can only get
an impression of this at the most through the repetitions in the film. I think this is the only way that I was able to
make this film: by not giving the viewer any directions, but leaving him his freedom.
A freedom that the monks also have?
The monks are offered a certain freedom through the strictness of the rules, since they've given up all control over
their lives. We think that we are able to fashion our lives ourselves, or even that we should be fashioning our lives
ourselves and that this is the only way to attain happiness. This is why so many people today are afraid of life. The
monastery is a place that is free of fear. One has the age-old trust that God will provide.
In some scenes there is something almost childlike about the monks.
Absolutely. For example, there is the scene where they slide down the mountain on their shoes and throw snow
at each other. I think there are parallels here. But you should not forget how athletic the monks are. They helped
me drag my equipment onto the mountain when I wasn't able to anymore ñ even those who were against the filming
pitched in. One question that was important to me was physical contact: where does physical contact take place
in the monastery? After all, it is an important component of human life. This is why the scenes at the barber's were
so important, when one's hair is cut, or when the old monk is rubbed with a salve.
What is the current position of the Carthusians? How great is their influence?
Again: these answers can be obtained elsewhere. I did not want to shoot a film about the monastery, but a film
about being a monk. Especially since I also see parallels here to the life of an artist. And to my everyday life as a
filmmaker. I am concerned about the many sacrifices one makes because of the things one wants to do, and how
one consistently pushes away certain other things. In both worlds, we are dealing with concepts such as
concentration, perception, the meaning of doing.