Peter Tscherkassky

Peter Tscherkassky was born October 3, 1958 in Vienna, Austria. He attended the Primary School in Mistelbach from 1965 - 1969 and Jesuit boarding school from 1969 - 1975 in Vienna. He attended BORG (high school) Mistelbach and graduated in June 1977. From 1977 - 1979 Tscherkassky studied journalism and political science as well as philosophy at the University of Vienna. His first encounter with avant-garde film was in January 1978 when he attended a five-day lecture series by P. Adams Sitney at the Austrian Film Museum.

Tscherkassky began filming in 1979 when he acquired Super-8 equipment and before the end of the year he had scripted and started of the shooting of Kreuzritter. Throughout his career he conceived numerous film festivals including “The Light of Periphery – Austrian Avant-Garde Film 1957–1988” (1988), “Im Off der Geschichte” (1990), “Found Footage – Filme aus gefundenem Material” (1991), and “Unknown Territories – The American Independent Film” (1992). He was also the founding member of the newly Austria Filmmakers Cooperative which began in 1982 and resigned from his position there in 1993. His most recent work Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the series "Quinzaine des réalisateurs."

Filmography:

1981 Bloodletting

1982 Erotique

1982 Love Film

1983 Freeze Frame

1983 Holiday Movie

1983 Miniaturen - Many Berlin Artists in Hoisdorf

1984 Motion Piction

1985 Manufracture

1986 kelimba

1987 Shot Countershot

1987/89 tabula rasa

1992 Parallel Space: Inter-View

1996 Happy-End

1997/98 L'Arrivée

1999 Outer Space

1999 Get Ready

2001 Dream Work

2005 Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine

2006 Nachtstück (Nocture)

2010 Coming Attractions