The red fist in the foyer marks Vienna’s Chamber of Labour as a historic achievement of the labour movement. The need for legal representation of workers’ interests in the post-migrant era and a digital present marked by the pandemic shows that this idea is hardly obsolete: the reception desk is always bustling. The clients are diverse, and the services on offer varied: there are few barriers to access them. Friendly interaction and a committed attitude are the order of the day. In the style of participatory observation, FOR THE MANY offers cleverly assembled glimpses into the institution’s daily activities, ranging from labour law consultations via team meetings and cultural events to the presentation of economic analyses of wealth distribution. The concept of the welfare state is rendered visible here, just as the picture of a society emerges where social discrimination is commonplace. When preparations to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the chamber’s founding collide with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the internal organisation of crisis mode takes centre stage – and new challenges for the world of work become apparent. The idea must be kept alive, #forever. (Berlinale Forum, Birgit Kohler)
Link to the Berlinale Forum page of the film
Constantin Wulff, born in 1962, lives and works as a director, author, dramaturge and producer of documentary films in Vienna. He is also the organiser and curator of numerous documentary film series and a lecturer in documentary film history at the Vienna Film Academy. For IN DIE WELT (2008) he received the 2009 Großen Diagonale-Preis for the best Austrian documentary as well as the 3sat Award for the best German-language documentary. He co-wrote DAS GROSSE MUSEUM (2014), which won the Berlinale Caligari Prize, among others. In 2014, his film ULRICH SEIDL UND DIE BÖSEN BUBEN was released and screened at the Zurich Film Festival, DOK Leipzig, IDFA and other festivals. His feature documentary WIE DIE ANDEREN followed in 2015 and was nominated for the 2016 Austrian Film Award and Prix de Soleure 2016.
