"The Gamblers" ("Die Spieler"), film by Sebastian Bieniek (B1EN1EK), 2007

Based on the novel "The Gamblers" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

„Die Spieler“ (The Gablers) by Sebastian Bieniek made Motion Picture History as the movie with the lowest budget ever in the official completion of an „A-Festival“ (2007, 10th Shanghai International Film Festival), due to it was made in only 7 days and with a budget of only 2.000€!

Now it’s for the very first time for free on YouTube online (German with English ST).

The movie is based on „The Gambler“ novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

It plays on the „Teufelsberg“, one of the strangest abandoned places in Berlin and even in the world!

Original German title: "Die Spieler"
English title: "The Gamblers"
Chinese title: 赌徒
Russian title: Игроки
Polish title: "Czas Graczy"
Hungarian title: "A játékos"
Iranian title: قماربازان (فیلم ۲۰۰۷)

Click to see the movie on YouTube (German with English ST)

Film Festivals:

10th Shanghai International Film Festival (int. competition)
Nanjing Festival Des Detuschen Films (official selection)
31th Cairo International Film Festival ( festival of festivals )
10th Int.Short and Ind. Film Festival Dhaka (int.Panorama)
10th International Film Festival Mumbai (official selection)
XXVI Uruguay Int. Film Festival (feature film competiton)
VI Festival De Cine Pobre, Cuba ( feature film competition )
5th CINEFEST, Hungary (international competition)
15. Festival International de Cine Valdavia, Chile (int. competition)
III. IFF Didor Dushanbe (int. competition)
5th Abuja International Film Festival (int. competition)
Start Int. Students Film Festival Baku (int. competition)
International Festival of Muslim Cinema (Международный Фестиваль Мусульманского Кино)

What is the differance between video art and film? Video art comes from the tradition of art and film from the tradition of entertainment (or educaton - in anyway film has a "service traditon", art not ) .

(Definition by Bieniek)

Original film poster of „The Gamblers“ by Sebastian Bieniek, 2007.

The Story:

The General, accompanied by his two children and stepdaughter Polina, visits Baden-Baden. Supposedly to take advantage of the cure available there – isolated from the world. But evidence is piling up that the group of Russians, accompanied by a supposedly French businessman and a French beauty, is actually in Baden-Baden for nancial purposes. Perhaps hoping to hit big money in the casinos or, perhaps, wanting to secure a social position through newly woven family ties.

In the midst of this world – to an outsider, impenetrable – the house tutor of the General, Alexej Iwanovitsch, once ruled by an uncontrollable addiction to gambling, falls in love with his employers stepdaughter, Polina. Alexej understands very quickly that he has entered a world ruled by monetary worries and dreams and that, offhand, he is not Polina’s perfect suitor. To him it seems that not only his social position, but also his self-imposed ban from the casino, stand in his way.

A man needs money.

Not until the rich Russian great-aunt Babuschka is dead does it seem that the General’s money problems are settled and Alexej is completely out of the race for Polina’s favor. But it turns out as no one had expected...

„The Gamblers“ (film still) by Sebastian Bieniek, 2007

Setting:

Teufelsberg (German for Devil's Mountain) is a man-made hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. It rises about 80 metres (260 ft) above the surrounding Teltow plateau and 120.1 metres (394 ft) above the sea level, in the north of Berlin's Grunewald Forest. It was named after the Teufelssee (i.e. Devil's lake) in its southerly vicinity. The hill is made of rubble, and covers an under-construction Nazi military-technical college (Wehrtechnische Fakultät). During the Cold War, there was a U.S. listening station on the hill, Field Station Berlin.

Film stills:

„The Gamblers“ (film still) by Sebastian Bieniek, 2007

Technical details:

"The Gamblers", 2007. fictional film, Germany 2007, 87 min., dolby SR, 35mm .
World premiere: 20.06.2007 at the 10th Shanghai Int. Film Festival.
Video: HDV 1080i50 ( original )
Audio: Dolby Stereo ( original ) 48 Khz.
DVD-video: DVpal 16/9
Language: German with English subtitels

„The Gamblers“ (film still) by Sebastian Bieniek, 2007

Cast:

Sebastian Bieniek - Alexej
Fritzi Malve Voss (Frederike Nass) - Polina
Thomas B. Hoffmann - Mr. Astley
Viatcheslav Demidov - General
Ninel Genina Demidov - Babushka
Sven Gerhardt - Des Grieux
Uta Ziegler - Blanche

Crew:

Distributor: Sebastian Bieniek

Producer: Sebastian Bieniek

Screenplay: Sebastian Bieniek based on a novel by. F. Dostojewskij

Cinematographer: Vojta Pokorny & Camilo Sottolichio

Music: Zarko Jovasevic

Editor: Sebastian Bieniek

Bildtitel

"The Gamblers" ("Die Spieler"), film by Sebastian Bieniek (B1EN1EK), 2007