[THROUGH MY STREET]
Karaoke during the lunch break; a dance sequence with two unexpected performers; an unusual love story in the world of machine tools. In Through My Street, the Swiss director Piet Baumgartner reinvents romantic ballads with humour and poetry, echoing the idea from Eastern philosophy that the world order is maintained not by religion nor politics but by the muses, the goddesses of dance and music.
This work, the first part of a larger project that will culminate in a feature film in 2025, was made in collaboration with composer Rio Wolta, who Baumgartner has been working with on artistic projects and films for more than 15 years. “When I heard the song Through My Street for the first time, I had no doubt who the protagonists should be, because when machines are freed from their daily tasks they become sensitive beings, capable of expressing emotion.”
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Born in 1984 in Rapperswil, Switzerland, Piet Baumgartner lives and works in Zurich, where he teaches at the F+F School of Art and Design. He is a visual artist and director with a transdisciplinary approach working in films, theatre and fine arts. He began his career as a journalist before completing an MA in Film Directing at the ZHdK, Zurich University of the Arts and later graduated from the Drehbuchwerkstatt, University of Film and Television in Munich. After completing his training with Andrej Wajda in Warsaw, he was assistant to Frank Castorf and René Pollesch at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. Piet works both independently and in collaboration with the artist Rio Wolta –for whom he has created several video clips– on shows or plays such as Showroom, which was performed at Theaterhaus Gessnerallee in 2018 or Trottinett Ballett, which was shown at Theater Neumarkt in 2021. In autumn 2023, his first film documentary, The Driven Ones, had its world premiere at the 19th Zurich Film Festival in the Focus Competition section. He has won several international awards including a nomination for the Swiss Film Awards (2024), the Swiss Culture Award (2023), European Media Award Civis (Jury Prize 2016), Austin Music Video Festival (2016), La Guarimba Film Festival (Audience Award 2016), International Music Video Festival Paris (Special Jury Prize 2015), among others.
