A quiet archive piece about the day of the shooting attack at my former school.
In progress. Premiere expected in 2026. Director: Matthias Wagner / Music: Wolf-Maximilian Liebich.
On the day of the shooting and in the weeks that followed, the media were full of sensationalism, discussions, and opinions. This short documentary aims to make a modest supplement to this.
The footage consists largely of wide camera shots and original sound recordings, taken exclusively in the hours after the shooting in the vicinity of the crime scene and during the following night in the almost deserted city center of Graz.
No specific agenda
I left the house that day and the following night without any specific agenda. Accordingly, the film has no agenda; it aims to be a document in the true sense of the word. The focus was and is not on the killing, the killer, or the victims, but on how we as humans, as a society, react to the incomprehensible. It is intended to be a film about the abstract nature of tragedy, about how little we humans can empathize when we are not personally affected. And how we still, as a collective, in this case as a city, experienced a rupture.
Space for self-observation
Due to the predominantly wide shots, the people in front of the camera—police officers, bystanders, media representatives—are not viewed and exploited as individuals, as was the case in reports on this event. Instead, people move through the urban space as types, in a kind of choreography of human behavior, as representatives for all of us.
Because we see ourselves in others—in those on the screen—as always, the editing leaves plenty of room for reflection. The audience should have time to consider their own thoughts and feelings about the incomprehensible events of June 10. The images and sounds transport us back to that day, but refrain from “captivating” us with the usual dramatic methods.
Graz has never been as silent as it was on the night of June 10 to 11, 2025, I believe. The first person I encounter is a woman who explains to me that it is impossible to comprehend what has happened. However, she urges me to go to the main square, where candles are burning.
The flag at the town hall is as black as the sky. This is not a video game that can be reset, says a man. “And now you’re making a video. Go ahead. Do what you want.” Lights at the archduke’s feet. Hands relighting ten candles. A minute’s silence.
13 NARRATIONS - Matthias Wagner 