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Self-Made Paradise
In the summer of 2006 Christoph Schuch, Marcus Lenz (Picture) and Peter Carstens (Sound) went to Finland together, where they made the documentary SELF-MADE PARADISE. The 90 minutes road movie is about three German guys who visit five finish self-made-artists in an American car.
These unusual artists create exciting places and discover their own way of life after having lived as factory workers or farmers.
Self-Made Paradise
Germany 2007
84 Min.
Finnish with English or German subtitles
A DVD of Self-Made Paradise can now be ordered for €15. Price for an order placed within Germany
First screening at the 49. Nordic Film Days in Lübeck, Germany,
November 1, 2007
Press Voices
„A fascinating road movie.“
-Wiesbadener Tagblatt
“Self-Made Paradise presents humble and yet charismatic individualists, who live and breathe their own brilliant projects far from the art market and the treadmills of consumer society. They are enviably in touch with themselves and their surroundings.”
- Peter Müller, Wiesbadener Kurier
Viewer Voices
„A wonderful movie. For me, it’s a chronicle of freedom”
“Beautiful movie!“
„Great this film exists!“
„Great people, wonderful landscapes, intense art – what more could you want?!“
“Thank God there’s a world aside from Aldi, H&M and all those uniformities. And many thanks to Christoph Schuch, who shows it to us.”
“Spectacular film, it just went by too quickly.“
Synopsis
They live in various parts of Finland and have built their own paradise without the least bit of financing: Vejo the yoga man, Kari the bizarre photographer, Seppo the auto handyman, Biilo the farmer and Johannes the mysterious shaman. The documentary road movie Self-Made Paradise plunges into the fascinating world of five Finish artists.
The documentary film celebrates life in a laid-back, freewheeling tone. Self-Made Paradise shows us new facets of Northern Europe. Avoiding pathos, the film approaches the exotic creativity of simple workers, farmers and penniless artists with a mixture of love, humor and amazement.
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Filmshooting in Northern Finland |
Johannes Setälä, Artist and Shaman |
Director Christoph Schuch on his film
I’ve been interested in so-called self-made artists, outsider artists or visionary artists for quite a while now. These artists are very influential in the South of the USA, where I met a few artists personally.
What I wasn’t aware of was that Finland is the meca of these self-made artists in Europe. However, when I came upon a picture of Vejo Rönkönen’s yoga garden, I realised immediately that I was looking at one of the strangest places in the world. I wanted to visit the garden right away. I continued my research and discovered more and more about the colorful self-made artist scene of Finland.
These people fascinate me because they “do their own thing” without any pathos, completely laid-back, and in doing so they create such wonderful, wondrous places. “Typically Finish” you might think, simple and charming, how these humble people have managed to create such great things.
This is what triggered our three week shooting of the film with Marcus Lenz (Camera) and Peter Carstens (Sound). Anyone who ventures with us on this summer journey find a reward. They will be pleased to meet these great, funny, wise and humble people. Artists, who are not interested in the art market, people who have hopped off the treadmill of commercial society in order to create their own paradise.
Tunguska Collidoscope
Together with Author Ute Muegge-Lauterbach and tthe Upstart! Animation Christoph Schuch work as director and producer on the story of the biggest recorded explosion in the history of mankind.
At the moment there is a 5 Minutes trailer with interviews and animations available.