The pomp and savagery of a Belgian group hunt is exposed in this atmospheric, suspenseful and sometimes ironic piece of direct cinema. WAIDMANNSHEIL‘Hail to the good shooter’ scrutinizes with an icy detachment the rituals of a wily group of bourgeois weekend warriors as they compete to kill deer in a pastoral landscape.
They trespass the wet, silent woods in awe and play a defined game of strategy in which all their resources are summoned up for the capture of their treasured preys.
It is a mystical experience centered around the encounter with a wild life. It is a matter of pride for the man and a matter of life and death for the animal.
Every moment of endurance brings the hunter closer to this decisive act. The adrenaline rushes through his mind. His primeval instincts take control of his body.
Once again he feels like the master of all creatures.
Thanks to a man-made decorum of ritual gestures and ceremonies, the act of killing stands out as a paradoxical way of celebrating life.
But often it appears that power and weakness go hand in hand in this most primitive experience of being human.
Info
| Title | Waidmannsheil |
|---|---|
| Original title | Waidmannsheil Heil aan de goede schutter |
| Original version | Dutch, French, German |
| Status | Completed |
| Category | Docs |
| Year of production | 2011 |
Credits
| Photography | Klaas Boelen |
|---|---|
| Editing | Pieter Smet |
| Music | Franz Von Schober, Royal Hunting Hornblowers Circle of Limburg |
Technical specs
| Running time film | 26' |
|---|---|
| Release format | HD-CAM |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Sound format | Gedeon Depauw |
| Colour | Colour |
Partners
| Supported by | BP&MC |
|---|
Awards
Festival selections
2011 : HOTDOCS Canadian International Documentary Festival Toronto for the international short documentary competition, shown in the workers of the world! section.
2011 : DOCVILLE International Documentary Festival Leuven for the national competition. Special jury mention Docville: “We praise Waidmannsheil by Klaas Boelen for the very good construction, rhythm and good use of sound."
2011 : DOK LEIPZIG 54th international Leipzig Festival 2011 for documentary and animated film for the international programm
2011 : FILMER A TOUT PRIX: Festival Cinema Documentaire Bruxelles for the Belgian selection
Local fests add Flemish flavour to line-ups
May promises to be a busy month for Flemish docs and shorts. Both the Docville International Documentary Festival in Leuven (29 April-7 May) and the Brussels Short Film Festival (28 April-8 May) are scheduling a strong selection of Flemish titles. With attention for Flemish productions on the rise internationally, indigenous fests are following course.
The seventh edition of documentary fest Docville is showcasing an ambitious programme, with yet to be released films, previews and one-off screenings. Among the 70 selected docs are a number of Flemish highlights such as Grande Hotel by Lotte Stoops and Waidmannsheil by Klaas Boelen, which were both selected for Hot Docs this year, as well as Peter Krüger’s creative documentary, Antwerp Central, which recently won the Grand Prix at the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA).
Grande Hotel selected for Hot Docs competition
Grande Hotel, the documentary by Lotte Stoops which debuted at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam, has been selected for Toronto’s Hot Docs (28 April-8 May). Klaas Boelen’s Waidmannsheil has also been selected for the festival's ‘Workers of the World’ programme, where it will be reciiving its world premiere. The largest documentary festival in North America, Hot Docs is considered one of the world’s most prestigious documentary festivals together with its European peer, Amsterdam’s IDFA. 
Grande Hotel will be screened in the Hot Docs International Spectrum section and therefore takes part in the official competition of the festival. The documentary is also in the running to take home the Audience Award. To top off the good news, Grande Hotel is also to be released in the Netherlands where it will open on 12 May through Mokum Distribution.
Last edited on 9 November 2011