Beni Müller

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Beni Müller, 1989, photography by Dafna Levy

Bernard Wilhelm Müller (* 1950 in Solothurn ) is a Swiss film director , film producer , film editor and author.

Life

Beni Müller grew up as the son of an actress with two siblings in Zurich. He studied philosophy ( Michel Foucault , Hermann Lübbe ), mathematics (Herbert Gross, Bartel Leendert van der Waerden ) and folklore ( Claude Lévi-Strauss , Arnold Niederer ) at the University of Zurich.

He then completed an artistic training. He studied theater and acting at the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and attended other seminars with the theater professionals Jümü (Jürgen Müller-Popken), Heinrich Wertmüller and Jerzy Grotowski . He attended film seminars with Urs Graf and Marlies Graf Dätwyler, Walter Marti and Reni Mertens , Georg Radanowicz and Sebastian C. Schröder and Viktor Sidler . At the F + F School for Art and Design he studied visual design with Doris Stauffer , Serge Stauffer and Hansjörg Mattmüller .

Since 1972 Beni Müller has made experimental films, documentaries and film poems and has worked as an editor, producer and assistant director. As an author, he wrote scripts and writings on film studies and new media. From 1982 to 1984 Beni Müller was a delegate of the International Red Cross ICRC / CICR in the Middle East (Israel / Lebanon).

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Beni Müller published the film studies contribution Kinematurgie - Schlaglichter auf die Film Aesthetik (1985), in which he deals with questions about film aesthetics against a philosophical background. The foreword to the book was written by Hans Rudolf Hilty .

In the early years of his career, Beni Müller's artistic work was closely linked to the filmmakers Erich Langjahr , Steff Gruber , Lucienne Lanaz, Isa Hesse-Rabinovitch and Urs Odermatt . His scriptwriting , directing , and editing skills are used differently depending on the cinematic genre or form of collaboration.

The first major film Morgarten takes place (1978) was made by Beni Müller, co-director with Erich Langjahr . The film explores an identity preservation ritual in central Switzerland. Beni Müller (et al.) Is editor of the book Morgarten takes place . The anthology brings together 16 texts on Swiss film. On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Morgarten , the film was restored and digitized thanks to financial support from Memoriav .

For the films directed by Steff Gruber - Moon in Taurus (1980), Fetish & Dreams (1985), Location Africa (1987) - Beni Müller worked on the conception and assembly. The films belong to the documentary drama genre , in which actions based on authentic cases are filmed and elements such as feelings, thoughts and dialogues are fictionalized at the same time. Beni Müller wrote several scripts. An important film adaptation is Meine Freunde in der DDR (Director: Lucienne Lanaz, 1989).

One of Beni Müller's most exciting assembly projects was the collaboration with the film artist Isa Hesse-Rabinovitch on the feature -length film Geister & Deutschen (1988). For the film Lopper (director: Urs Odermatt , 1991), named after the mountain Lopper of the same name in the canton of Nidwalden, Beni Müller did the editing. The film deals with the complex story of the creation of the first section of the motorway in the canton of Nidwalden.

Beni Müller, familiar with the Middle East through his work as a delegate of the International Red Cross (1982–1984), made the film Levante - a Zajal in the Orient (1989). The film is a documentary film poem and portrays a culture of peace and hospitality. The tracks to track down this culture are pigeons, olives, mirrors and trade. The traditional music style Al-Zajal leads the viewer through the impressions of everyday life. In Al-Zajal, poems are sung and recited. This style of music is recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity . The location is the city of Damur , which was the scene of a massacre . Beni Müller chose this form of cinematic implementation in order to contrast the reality of the civil war with the reality of everyday life. The film music was improvised by the well-known Swiss jazz pianist Irène Schweizer . The two film editors Regina Cotteli and Rainer Maria Trinkler worked on the assembly.

Director

  • 1978: Morgarten takes place (94 min.), Directed by Erich Langjahr, Beni Müller
  • 1989: Levante - a Zajal in the Orient (80 min.), Director: Beni Müller
  • 1990: In the footsteps of Spiegel das Kitten (34 min.), Directed by Beni Müller and Nadja Sieger
  • 1980 Strike (29 min.), Directed by Beni Müller

Assembly

  • 1973: Tourist Information (14 min.), Director: Steff Gruber
  • 1978: The slow death of the Sumatran rhinoceros (94 min.), Director: Mike Wildbolz
  • 1980: Moon in Taurus (35 min.), Director: Steff Gruber
  • 1985: Fetish & Dreams (82 min.), Director: Steff Gruber
  • 1987: Location Africa (65 min.), Director: Steff Gruber
  • 1988: Ghosts & Guests (85 min.), Director: Isa Hesse
  • 1991: Lopper (35 min.), Script and direction: Urs Odermatt
  • 1990: Al Gatun (74 min.), Written and directed by Preeti Kali Chandrakant (Fasciati)
  • 2007: Secret Moments (82 min.), Directed by Steff Gruber

Publications

  • 1979: Morgarten takes place; Beni Muller et al. (Ed.), Verlag Erich Langjahr
  • 1985: Kinematurgy - spotlights on film aesthetics; Beni Müller, Brennesselverlag & edition publishing house, Wädenswil ISBN 3-85578-015-3

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Müller, Beni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Müller, Bernard Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss film director, film producer and film editor
DATE OF BIRTH 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Solothurn