The demonstration and premiere in the Knights’ Hall of Jedenspeigen Castle ended with loud applause from around 80 invited guests from politics, “players from the region” and those involved. The film by Herbert Nowohradsky – producer, director and cameraman at the same time – illuminates in 75 minutes the important role the March, the border river between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria, has always played, plays and will play in people’s lives as well as for flora and fauna.
It shows the life of the people between the confluence of the Thaya and the March near Hohenau and the confluence of the river with the Danube near Engelhartstetten. History, forces of nature, exciting narratives, stories, cultural retrospectives – all of this is part of the film. This gives the viewer an insight into the work of the bird ringing station and that of the March-Thaya Center in Hohenau. The Stillfried Prehistory Museum and the flood events in 2006 are also dealt with.
Such a beautiful area should be filmed
The idea came up in March 2020 during a bike tour: “I thought to myself: This is such a beautiful area, it should be filmed,” says Nowohradsky. The plan was to start shooting at the source on the Glatzer Schneeberg in Moravia. This project could not be realized due to the pandemic. Remarkable: The production was almost entirely handled by the director himself: 120 scenes were created from 4,500 files. Recordings, provided by ORF, also appear in the film.
In order to avoid influence, he refrained from subsidies. The production costs were modest and primarily amounted to the travel costs. Most of the distances were covered by bike.
Nowohradsky thanked ÖVP mayor Alfred Kridlo, who provided the space for the film presentation, and Hohenau’s SPÖ mayor Wolfgang Gaida, chairman of the small region of March-Thaya-Auen. Kridlo said: “I congratulate you on this project.”
Gaida took the same line: “I was impressed by how much our region has to offer.” Another premiere is planned in Engelhartstetten. If interested, Nowohradsky will show the film in the communities and make it available to schools. You can buy it at cost price from the author.
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