SCHACHNOVELLE

SCHACHNOVELLE sees director Philipp Stölzl re­interpreting Stefan Zweig’s timeless literature classic. The famous story of the man who survives captivity and mental torture with the help of a chess book becomes an intense game of deception in the new adaptation. Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazi regime. The lawyer Bartok is arrested and taken to the Hotel Metropol, the Gestapo’s headquarters, shortly before he can flee with his wife to the USA. As an asset manager for the no­bility, he should now provide the local Gestapo chief Böhm with access to the accounts. But Bartok is sent to solitary confinement since he refuses to cooperate. He remains steadfast for weeks and months but becomes increasingly desperate – until he chances upon a chess book.