The making of Following the Traces of America's Indians

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Following the Trace of America's Indians won a 4-star award at BIAFF 2008.

At the 2006 Festival of Nations in Austria we learned that Oskar Siebert after more than 25 years of successful movie-making, intended to stop. A series of shoulder problems made it impossible for him to hold his camera steady for long. He told us he had one more partly-made documentary to finish. Here we look in his own words at that final film, at his life and movie career and discover why it took another two years before this last work appeared. But we begin with a word from his film-making partner, his daughter Daniela:

On the Trail of America's Indians

During our travels in America we visited friends in LA and Phoenix. Near Scottsdale we visited an Indian reservation where a meeting and dance festival was going on. There were many Indians in wonderful, colourful costumes. Without appropriate permissions we were not able to take photos or film the beautiful spectacle. We had always been fascinated by the Indians, their culture, religion and tradition … and now there were here in front of us. That was amazing. Finally we convinced the Chief to let us take photos and make a film, but we had to ask everyone who appeared individually because some believe that a photo can steal your soul. We got some amazing pictures but had very little time to shoot. At a museum in Arizona we met Indians who were so kind as to talk to us on camera about their life nowadays. Back in Germany we decided to make a documentary which shows the Indians in the context of their history and their present day lives. We did a lot of research and it took a long time until we had our material assembled and sorted out enough to make a film. We did our best with the video, still pictures and information to make a good story. Our documentary shows the Indians of Western America. Their history, culture, religion and traditions survive and are still a fascinating mystery to us. - Daniela Siebert

Following the Trace of America's Indians - Oskar Seibert As Europeans we only know them from books or movies. During our journey through the South-West of the USA we were able to meet them, the "real" Indians, the aboriginal people of America. Our great fascination with the people and culture was the reason for our determination to follow the Native Americans and their footsteps through the past. We planned to make a film about the Indians of South-West America. Now our documentary about North American Indians is finished. Our 15 minute film has taken so long, because we couldn't visit America every year and get various film sequences.  First we had to make an accurate inventory and preparation of all the material we had in hand and finally go off to shoot the last scenes. As usual we made the film in three languages. Daniela did the commentary for the English and German version. Ilona Holesinska (from the Czech film-making group Foxymon) spoke the Czech commentary at the studio of Jan Lengyel and Tomas Kovincka in Prague. So this time it was a Bavarian-Bohemian cooperation. Surely this, our last documentary film, will be as much an experiment for the audience and the fans of non-professional film, as it was for us.

What took so long? We have always encouraged and supported film activities that cross national borders. We live in Regensburg in Bavaria, a region in the South-East of Germany and I have connections with neighbouring Bohemia in the west of the Czech Republic. So we agreed to organise the First Bavarian-Bohemian film comparison festival in October 2007. The work of preparation, organising, seeking sponsors, judges, promotions, venues and the actual running of the festival absorbed all our time and energy for the whole year. Ultimately the effort was worth it … but we had no time for our own film making.

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Oskar Siebert - Biography

Oskar Georg Siebert was born in Berlin on 23rd June 1942. His father, Georg Siebert, was a producer and assistant director at the Babelsberger Film Studios in Berlin and between 1948 and1956 he worked in Hamburg. His mother worked as a film extra in Prague's Barrandow film studios.

At the end of the Second World War, Oskar and his sister were whisked off from Berlin to Prague. As a German, Siebert could not achieve his life's ambition of becoming a film director in Czech Socialist Republic of that time. Despite political persecution and discrimination, however, he learned the basics of film art.

On 16th July 1976 Oskar managed to return to Germany with the help of the Commission on Human Rights. Since that time he and his family have lived in Regensburg. After training as a masseur, orthopaedic therapist and chiropractor, he worked as an independent therapist.

In 1984 Oskar returned to film making - but now only as a hobby. Since 1986, he has been a member of BDFA (the German equivalent of IAC) and of the Eurofilmer. In 1986, he won his first international film prize at Photokina in Cologne.

As the result of an occupational injury in 1995, Oskar retired from professional life and devoted himself more intensively to his hobby. His documentary and short films made an international breakthrough in the non-commercial film scene. With his wife, Ingrid, daughter, Daniela and friend, Ulrich Boin, he formed a new film group known as "VideoAktiv Regensburg" in 1995. Daniela, is the youngest and also the most gifted member of the group. She has made numerous video productions.

The Sieberts earned wide recognition in non-commercial film festivals. By the end of 2005, VideoAktiv films had represented the art and culture of the city of Regensburg and of the Federal Republic of Germany at more than 300 international film festivals. The team received more than 200 international film prizes and certificates.

In 1996 Oskar Siebert won the Regensburg city Kulturförderpreis. In the USA, Oskar and Daniela Siebert received a Masters Degree and also the Oscar Horowitz Memorial Award. AMMA (the American Movie Maker Association) gave Oskar an award for "exemplary international cooperation" and he was given honorary membership of the Czech Film Association.

You can read about his films (in English, German and Czech) on the VideoAktiv website.

A Personal Message Dear film friends, For more than 25 years non-commercial film was my hobby. Since 1995 together with my daughter Daniela and the support of my wife Ingrid, I have made more than 35 short movies and presented them at numerous international film festivals and competitions over the whole world. Our favourites were mostly short movies with a social/critical theme and documentaries, but we also made experimental movies and portraits. We wanted to try everything and to get experience and knowledge of the "seventh art", cinema. Over the years we have had more than 200 young people working with us; numerous movies were made with the cooperation of our Czech film friends. We have reached many people with our movies and won many friends around the world through our hobby. All of which brought creativity and variety into our lives. We were happy about every success but we have also had to cope with and fight envy and dissociation. Our movies won over 240 major and minor awards This international success made us unpopular in German film circles. Daniela is not only busy with our hobby but also with her studies at university. She is reading Comparative Cultural studies and German. Now she needs time to concentrate on her graduation exams and thesis, to make her way in life. I will back out of active movie work although I won't leave the movie scene completely. I just want to be an advisor for younger film colleagues. Everyone should know when his time has come and when you have to give the task over to the next generation. Following the Trace of America's Indians is our last documentary, at which we have worked very hard for a long time and can know present it to the world. And so we slowly say goodbye to the film scene and wish all of you much success and rich creativity in future. Yours Oskar and Daniela Siebert (VideoAktiv Regensburg Team)

This feature has been assembled by Dave Watterson from various documents, photographs and information from the Sieberts.

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