Prix Ars Electronica “u19–create your world”

Das Verschwinden der Trolle

Luis Schweighofer (AT)

In Kepler’s Gardens at the JKU Campus – create your world
create your world: during opening hours

Young Creatives

u12 Honorary Mention


The project Das Verschwinden der Trolle (The Disappearance of the Trolls) is a short film that was recorded in one take with a smartphone, using primarily Lego and Schleich figures and pictures. In order to change the “actors” and backdrops between the individual scenes, the recording was simply paused.

Credit: tom mesic

The story is about a mythical land long before our time, a land teeming with fantastic creatures such as unicorns, dragons, gryphons, and fairies, all of whom coexist peacefully. One day, however, trolls arrive on a large ship to overthrow the beloved king of this magical realm, Balduin the Barefooted and Brave, to conquer the land, and to steal the king’s legendary crystal scepter, which is said to possess magical powers. The dim-witted ogres began their brutal search, destroying villages and woods along the way and killing many forest creatures. Ultimately, they succeed in finding the coveted treasure but also suffer a “misfortune” in the process: the trolls are banished into the magical crystal, and their evil deeds are thus all undone. Finally, peace returns to the land.

Project Credits / Acknowledgements

Petra Schweighofer (mother and camerawoman)

Biography

Credit: Luis Schweighofer (AT)

Luis Schweighofer (b. 2009) is the oldest of three siblings, lives with his family in Baden bei Wien, and is finishing his final year of primary school. When he is not playing with his friends or family, riding his bike, wandering through the woods and vineyards, building forts and climbing trees, he can usually be found with his nose in a book. Immersing himself in stories and even telling some himself is what he likes doing most. Ever since he could talk, he has been arranging figures and making up stories, from Punch-and-Judy shows and ghost trains to escape rooms. Luis is a member of the Biondekbühne theater club and very much enjoys acting out scenes and playing with language.

 

Jurystatement

Coming up with a story as imaginative as this one is quite an achievement in itself. But to then translate it into a film is an even greater challenge, and both were accomplished very successfully and with tremendous inventiveness in Das Verschwinden der Trolle. The way in which Luis Schweighofer illustrates the narrative with simple methods demonstrates great ingenuity. Powerful cinematic special effects are achieved through things as simple as a small battery-operated candle or a bit of colored foil.