Film description
Projekt Marmor – verdrängt und vergessen is a documentary by Artur Irmler and Fynn Prünster. The film tells the story of nearly 1,400 prisoners of a subcamp who had to build a tunnel system near Graz under the most brutal conditions during the Second World War. While the prisoners had to work for the national socialist armament production, the documentary also sheds light on the current handling of this site. A critical discussion is thus created regarding the insufficient memory culture and the endangered preservation of the historical tunnel system. The reconstruction of the events becomes a visible reminder of the trauma suffered. The film was created as a project at the HTBLVA Ortweinschule Graz and was premiered in 2025.
Official trailer
Production data
Title |
Projekt Marmor – verdrängt und vergessen |
English title |
Project Marmor – Repressed and Forgotten |
Genre |
Historical documentary film |
Length |
56 minutes |
Original language |
German |
Subtitles |
English |
Country of production |
Austria |
Production company |
PiFilms |
Production year |
2025 |
Funded by |
Future Funds of the Republic of Austria, National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism |
Crew
Production, direction, camera, editing |
Fynn Prünster & Artur Irmler |
Associated production |
Franz Leopold Schmelzer, Wolfgang Scherz |
Music |
AREMI |
3D animation |
Fynn Prünster |
2D animation |
Lisa Ploder |
Reenactment crew |
Lisa Ploder, Tamara Gehwolf, Julian Czermak, Valentin Strasser |
Drone footage |
Emily Felgitscher, Julian Czermak |
Sound mixing |
Nils Kirchhoff |
Color Grading |
Maximilian Thaler |
Cast
Narrator |
Lasse Kühlcke |
Voice of „Jean Germaneau“ |
Florentin Groll |
Protagonist 1 |
Andreas Steiger |
Protagonist 2 |
Tabeo Mühlenfeld |
Inmate 1 |
Adamo Valtiner |
Inmate 2 |
Gerald Hartwig |
Inmate 3 |
Robert Irmler |
Inmate 4 |
Bernhard Grinschgl |
Response
Performances in Brussels, Hofburg Vienna and with school classes
© Ricarda Pfingstl, Selina Prünster, Egon Prünster
The film was premiered on April 29, 2025, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Graz as an official memorial event of the Austrian Mauthausen Committee – in the presence of politicians and representatives of Austrian memorial culture. On May 8 of the same year, the film was broadcast on ORF III. In connection with the film and the two producers, several broadcasts, newspaper reports, and feedback followed. These included a broadcast including an interview in the formats „Guten Morgen mit Ö1“ and „Wissen aktuell“ on Ö1, an interview on Antenne Steiermark, and reports in the newspapers “Der Standard”, "Kleine Zeitung" and in "Die Presse" and also a guest appearance on the ORF III program Dialog-Forum „How do you want to live?“.
Awards
- Medal for Monument Protection of the Republic of Austria
- Ferdinand-Tremel Medal
- Award at the Berlin Indie Film Festival (BIFF) in the category Best First Time Director, Documentary
- Official Selection at Pembroke-Taparelli Arts & Film Festival (PTAFF) in the category Best Documentary Feature
Presentations
After its initial release in April, the film was presented and discussed multiple times both nationally and internationally, mostly in the presence of the filmmakers Prünster and Irmler.
- 8 May 2025: Television broadcast on ORF III
- 21 May 2025: Presentation and discussion with EU members of parliament at the Steiermark House in Brussels
- 17 June 2025: Presentation in Hofburg Vienna
- 22 August 2025: Presentation at the Triebwerk in Wiener Neustadt
- 16 September 2025: Presentation for school classes at the Martinihof in Neudörfl
- 26 September 2025: Presentation at the Museum of History Graz
- 22 October 2025: Presentation for school classes at the Votiv Cinema
