SERVIAM

Serviam is set entirely in an extensive complex of buildings on the outskirts of Vienna, surrounded by orchards and vineyards. In the centre of the ground there is a modern building complex: a large Catholic boarding school for girls, a church and a small convent. The concept of Serviam is that of a thriller based on an authentic depiction of life in such a boarding school. Many of the images are from the classical repertoire of the thriller: stairs and mirrors, silhouettes, light and shadow. Less frequently used thriller motifs arise from the modern setting: the light, transparent character of the buildings and the fact that the story is set during the warm summer months. There is an additional visual level representing a departure from the careful realism of the setting: brief sequences - disruptive, suggestive - which derive from the wealth of images found in the Bible.
I've always been interested in making a thriller. When I was a girl I loved the films of Hitchcock and Lang - as a viewer. To watch a thriller was something special - I had to be allowed to watch it and it was some sort of reward, like getting an ice cream. Now, as an adult, I am in the position to do one myself! Serviam - I Will Serve is set in a Catholic boarding school, an environment which I know very well as I attended one myself as a girl with a school uniform. The film is about faith - pure faith, devotion and the Existence of God. As a child you do naturally believe. I did not question God at all. As an adult it is far more difficult. Now the question of faith and belief is more mysterious and important to me than ever.

A Catholic boarding school for girls not far from Vienna. Some of its sections are already empty. The wealthy elite of Austrian society and their children. A nun fights against the decline of faith. A little girl almost gives her life. A film about sacrifice, devotion and the existence of God.