Above the world

Expectations are high for Elias. He is an excellent student and the son of the richest farmer in the Zillertal valley. He’s supposed to take over the farm in the near future. Elias desperately tries to take on this role, but he feels that he wants to lead a completely different life.

And so, one day in the late 1960s, he makes a momentous decision: he renounces his inheritance. Against his parents' wishes and despite all opposition, he sets off into the lonely wilderness of the mountains – higher and higher, far above the tree line. Here, far above the world, Elias finally finds what he had always longed for down in the valley: unconditional freedom.

“Above the world” is the touching and gripping story of a man who rebels radically against a society in which money rules and only the rich seem to count. Based on a play by Felix Mitterer and inspired by true events, this film addresses questions that are more relevant than ever before: What kind of world do we want to live in? What values are important to us? Who are we – and what do we really need?

Cast

Director
Adrian Goiginger

Screenplay
Adrian Goiginger and Felix Mitterer

DarstellerInnen
Gerti Drassl, Verena Altenberger, Johannes Krisch, Harald Windisch, Jakob Mader, Iris Unterberger, Carmen Gratl and others

Producers
Michael Cencig, Isabelle Welter and Rupert Henning

Co-producer
Philipp Schall

Producer
Eva Hödlmoser

Cinematography
Klemens Hufnagl, Paul Sprinz

Editing
Birgit Foerster

Sound engineer
André Zacher

Set design
Maria Gruber

Costume design
Monika Buttinger

Make-up
Tim Scheidig and Desireé Schober

Casting
Angelika Kropej

PR/press
Susanne Auzinger (www.auzinger-pr.com)

A production by Metafilm and WHee Film in co-production with it-Media

Produced with the support of the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI), ORF (Film/Television Agreement), FISA - Film Location Austria, the Vienna Film Fund (FFW), SWR/Arte, Cine Tirol and MFG Baden-Württemberg

Distribution: Filmladen (A) Prokino (D)

Auszeichnungen Awards and Nominations

Austrian Film Award 2023 (award in the category ‘Best Female Supporting Role’ for Gerti Drassl and nomination in the category ‘Best Male Supporting Role’ for Harald Windisch)

Bolzano Film Festival 2022 (nomination in competition and winner of the South Tyrol Award)

Thomas Pluch Screenplay Award 2022 (nomination for the main and special prize for Adrian Goiginger and Felix Mitterer)

Romy 2023 (nomination in the category ‘Male Discovery’ for Jakob Mader)