Film adaptation of ‘Sparta’: child actors make serious accusations against Ulrich Seidl

The films of Austrian arthouse director Ulrich Seidl have been screened at all major film festivals in Europe, he has won numerous awards and is especially praised for breaking taboos.

His latest film is about two brothers who both try to find happiness abroad in their own way. Enough footage was shot to make two films. The first is called ‘Rimini’ and had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2022. It is about a former pop star who can only keep his head above water by getting into bed with his female fans in exchange for money.

The world premiere of the second film, ‘Sparta’, was scheduled for the Toronto Film Festival. Organizers canceled the screening after a Spiegel article made accusations about filming conditions for the audience of child actors. The film has been in our cinemas since September 7.

‘Sparta’ is about the second brother Ewald, who has to deal with his pedophile tendencies. Ewald founded a judo academy for boys in an abandoned school in a village in Romania. But it isn’t long before the residents begin to question his motives and his past dealing with boys catches up with him.

The 70-year-old director hired several boys between the ages of nine and sixteen for the film. No acting experience at all. Some of these guys are now accusing Seidl of not being aware of the film’s content. Der Spiegel writes: “During the filming they were exposed to violence and nudity without any preparation.”

According to its own information, Der Spiegel conducted six months of research and “spoke to dozens of members of Seidl’s film crew, including nine people who were on location in Romania in the winter of 2018/2019 and the summer of 2019.”

The film was shot in Romania. The main filming location was Baba Novac, a small village in northern Romania. Almost all non-professional actors are cast in this environment. Der Spiegel writes that flyers have been distributed to surrounding schools. It said that “athletic boys between the ages of 8 and 17” were wanted. An accompanying information letter stated that the aim of the film was to “represent Romania realistically and avoid prejudice or stereotypes”. There was no mention of pedophilia in “Sparta”.

In the Spiegel article, a 13-year-old boy named Marian, who stars in ‘Sparta’, is quoted as saying: ‘It felt real.’ What happened in the film also happened to him in real life: “The drunken man, also an amateur actor, reminded him of his own father, an abusive alcoholic for whom his mother met him and his wife only a few months before the filming. brother had fled…

Marian cried and did not want to continue filming, but was pressured by one of Seidl’s assistants. According to Seidel’s attorney, Marian and his mother ultimately agreed to continue filming. Marian’s mother told Spiegel that she was not even on set that day.

Seidl published a statement on his website saying Spiegel’s accusations “couldn’t be further from reality.” His films are not created, as Spiegel writes, by not providing sufficient information to employees, but rather by building a relationship of trust. Seidl writes that he has “great respect for his employees” and would never “make decisions that would endanger their physical and mental well-being in any way.”

The set would have relaxation and play areas, as well as educationally trained staff to care for the minors. No one – neither children nor parents – ever contacted him and complained about working conditions.

In an interview with ‘Profile’, Seidl also says that it is not a film about pedophilia because there are ‘no sexualized scenes at all’. It is more about ‘machismo, abuse of power and power structures’. Pedophilia is also discussed, but is not the main aspect. Seidl also says that he told the families exactly what the film would be about: “We said: it’s about a man who wants to surround himself with children and is attracted to them, who is also tender towards them.”

In the summer of 2019, the police in Romania investigated working conditions on set. The reason: “several acts of violence” were committed against the children during a film recording. The investigation has now been stopped.

(cmu)