Vals

A world without hearing is unimaginable for many. However, there is a population group that is affected by it and continues to be marginalized. Interweaving the present and the past, this film explores the topic of deafness.

Around 1520, Schwaz and the silver region became the Silver Empire, the Silicon Valley of Europe. Not only the mining of silver and copper, but also the associated “industry” characterize the villages and hamlets of the region. With the arrival of the Fuggers, the Tyrolean trades disappear. Power, powerlessness, wealth and poverty - new times dawn in the “silver empire”. In 1521, the Fuggers take over the exploitation of silver mining in Schwaz/Tyrol. This marks the beginning of a new European era. Schwaz silver is used to buy empires, finance wars and set progress in motion. But it is not only the “silver town” of Schwaz, but also the entire region around Schwaz along the Lower Inn Valley, as well as other regions of Europe, that provide innovations with silver and also the lesser-known copper mining.

The film offers an insight into a nearly forgotten world. The times when the Sahrawi war of independence was on the international agenda seem to be long forgotten. The fate of hundreds of thousands Sahrawis living in refugee camps since the 1970s seems not to be spectacular enough for further attention. Inthe film the women get a chance to speak. It is a film about their experiences and hopes. It is mainly a film about life in surroundings where seemingly normal things are real challenges. The film is a simple and impressive portrait of women, who have been fighting against their fate to help their people. They have never lost their drive, no matter how unfavourable the circumstances have been. It reminds us of the fate of the Sahrawi people. The film is realistic, without any kitsch elements. It shows impressive pictures of the real lives of strong women, who have never stopped fighting for independence.

Lower Austria in the 80s. Anna helps out in her uncle's tavern to fund her studies and meets handsome Kurt who casts an eye on her. But when the local factory closes, life in the valley changes. Anna learns that Kurt is going to marry. Then a terrible accident occurs. The film conveys the rural society's changing self-conception and outlines the conflict between staying or leaving for the city.

More and more people are suffering from wheat and gluten intolerance. Wheat protein was long considered to be the cause of this scourge, and today gluten free products are on all the supermarket shelves. However, there is now increasing suspicion that it is not wheat but how it is processed that makes bread a potentially unhealthy food. Industrial processes simply do not give bread enough time to mature. More and more bakeries are reacting to this by introducing former production methods and ingredients such as champagne rye, emmer or in vogue chia seeds. Bread is baked according to old recipes, sometimes using home grown and home milled grains.

In the mid-1970s, Elfi falls in love with Sepp. Since both are "slightly" disabled, serious problems soon arise. The decisions about their lives are made by others. What they simply imagine—marriage, having children, and simply being happy—becomes a difficult undertaking without a happy ending.