Creeping into life

A special look behind the scenes: The film "Kriechspur ins Leben. Martin Schläpfer choreographs 'Pathétique'" by Catharina Kleber accompanies the ballet director during the creation of his last world premiere for the Vienna State Ballet. Dancers such as Gabriele Aime, Elena Bottaro, Sonia Dvořák, Hyo-Jung Kang, Yuko Kato and Marcos Menha as well as companions and colleagues such as deputy director Louisa Rachedi, chief dramaturge Anne do Paço and conductor Christoph Altstaedt talk about their collaboration with Martin Schläpfer. - A cinematic portrait of an artist who has had a lasting influence on the Vienna State Ballet.

The film director Catharina Kleber completed her studies in theater, film and media studies at the University of Vienna and has been working for broadcasters such as ZDF, ARTE, ORF and 3sat since 2008. In addition to numerous 3sat theater recordings from the Burgtheater, Theater Basel, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Thalia Theater and Schauspielhaus Hamburg, her best-known projects include the documentary series Wie Götter speisen (2023, ARTE) and the portrait Sieben Leben für die Musik - Die Familie Kanneh-Mason (2022, 3sat).

A film by Catharina Kleber A 2025 / 40 min. / German & English with German & English subtitles Camera: Deniz Lindenberg

Sound: Lukas Bauer, Theresa Ferstl, Martin Kadlez

Grading: Sabrina Winkler

Mixing: Fabian Hainzl

Technology: Weitblick Film

Editing & Production: Catharina Kleber