THE WAY OF A WARRIOR
a documentary feature film
“The belief in revolution, which is identical to the belief in the kingdom, or better still: the belief in God’s Kingdom, is the only real path.”
- Ernesto Cardenal
In 1982 Michael N., a twenty-year old novice from South Tyrol leaves Europe to become a missionary in Bolivia and dedicate his life to help the poorest of the poor. Shocked by the conditions he finds there and fascinated by the theology of liberation preached by the Jesuits - who are striving for social change in South America - he joins the Jesuit religious order. The ardent catholic stays eight years in Bolivia. He leaves the novitiate and together with other students founds the revolutionary Guerilla-group Frente Liberacion National. As head of a suicide guerilla commando, he kidnaps the CEO of Bolivia's Coca-Cola company in 1990. The kidnapping drags on for several months until finally Michael is shot dead in a hail of bullets by Bolivian special units. Against the backdrop of the disturbing activities of today’s holy warriors, who are mainly Muslim and conduct their suicide attacks to become martyrs in a fight for theocracy, the film tells the story of the Christian holy warrior Michael.
Credits
Directed and written by Andreas Pichler
Photography: Susanne Schüle
Editing: Marzia Mete, Andreas Zitzmann
Sound: Stefano Bernardi
Music: Paul Lemp
Research: Martin Kucera
Executive producer: Thomas Tielsch
Co-producers: Samir, Valerio B. Moser
Line producer: Britta Erich
Redaktion: Burkhard Althoff, Kathrin Brinkmann
Co-produced by: Filmtank Hamburg(D), Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion (CH), ZDF Kleines Fernsehspiel
With the support of: Schweizer Fernsehen, ARTE, RAI Sender Bozen
Funded by: Filmförderung Hamburg, BKM, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Autonome Provinz Südtirol, MEDIA Programm der EU
Festivals 2008: Max Ophüls Award (D), Doclisboa (P), Docs-Barcelona (E), Mostra Int. de cinema San Paolo (BR), Solothurner Filmtage (CH), Al Jaziera Film Festival (QT), Bellaria Film Festival (I), Annecy Festival Cinéma Italien (F), Kassel Dokfilmfestival (D), Innsbrucker Film Festival (A)
Awards: Prix spécial du jury (Annecy), Premio Anteprima Doc, Premio UCCA (Bellaria), Public Award (Bozen)
World distribution: Heino Deckert Distribution;
Cinema distribution Switzerland: Dokufactory Zürich; cinema distribution Italy: UCCA
Cinema distribution Bolivia: Londra Films
2008 86/52 Min.
