The 2009 Documentary, Arena

 

This was the official website for the 2009 documentary, Arena.
Content is from the site's archived pages.

ARENA is a personal journey into the world of bullfighting. Tracing the difficult struggle of a group of young apprentices, we enter their complex and archaic realm, filled with joy and sadness, color, shadow, reflection and metaphor. Travelling with them to several countries, ARENA also reminds us of the international nature of this singular Western cultural phenomenon.

 

 

Making a film about bullfighting is as unpredictable as a bullfight. You must listen a great deal and observe unceasingly, and even then things remain which have to be told.

I think of the structure of ARENA as a sort of mosaic whose pieces took shape on a long path past the different landscapes, faces and facets of the bullfighting world. The film does not seek to provide a didactic introduction to its rules and codes, but rather a sensitive approach to the complexity of this phenomenon, whose roots are as old as those of civilisation itself.

The characters appearing crossed my path and I incorporated them into the tale with the feeling that the film itself had invited them. Starting from a script resulting from a long investigation, I let myself be carried along by my own curiosity, my astonishment and my fascination, and this tale grew into its current form.

Nowadays, political correctness often leads to dogmatic, intolerant postures. The majority feels that its own sins are redeemed by censuring the conduct of a few. That happens with bullfighting. It is very easy to attack it, because it shows its hand as it plays and does not hide what society usually conceals. Bullfighting is however anything but a glorification of suffering. Roland Barthes explained what is celebrated at a bullfight: “Not man’s victory over the animal, but victory over ignorance, fear and necessity.”

Günter Schwaiger

 

My world: When I first started freelancing, I suddenly realized that I could do my work remotely from anywhere when a client in Madrid suggested I work remotely from Spain. I immediately jumped at the chance. My work is entirely online, so we just packed up and rented an apartment large enough to handle both the family and the work. My most important client was an online retailer that sold very cool Batman shirts. They really specialize in Batman t shirts. Their entire stock spanned the life of the Dark Knight in the media - from comics to radio, tv and movies - and is a wearable art collection of Batman and associates in the form of t shirts, sweat shirts, and hoodies. They also posted the most comprehensive collection of Batman's presence in our culture. Working now from Madrid, we posted content, assets, and links to improve their sales. Once we had been in Madrid for a while, life settled down until our oldest daughter asked us about bullfighting. One of her classmate's father was a matador and she was invited to their country home. I had decidedly mixed feelings about bullfighting, but I didn't feel that should impact my son's budding friendship. There are number of animal rights or animal welfare activist groups such as Antitauromaquia and StopOurShame who undertake anti-bullfighting actions in Spain. On the other hand I had read the author Alexander Fiske-Harrison who trained as a bullfighter who have argued that there are mitigating circumstances to this: "In terms of animal welfare, the fighting bull lives four to six years whereas the meat cow lives one to two. What is more, it doesn’t just live in the sense of existing, it lives a full and natural life. Those years are spent free, roaming in the dehesa, the lightly wooded natural pastureland which is the residue of the ancient forests of Spain. It is a rural idyll, although with the modern additions of full veterinary care and an absence of predators big enough to threaten evolution’s answer to a main battle tank." I had even seen the 2009 documentary, Arena, and realized that there is much more nuance in the world of bullfighting. Perhaps if we meet the parents of my son's friend we will learn even more.

 

 



Arena (Gunter Schwaiger, 2009)

 

Premiere Spain: February 26h, 2010
Premiere Austria: March 5th, 2010
 
Next Premieres (no date yet): Germany, France, Switzerland
 
Festivals (till now):
 
Worldpremiere: VIENNALE, Vienna Int. Filmfestival, Nov. 2009
 
Biarritz Filmfestival, FIPATEL Jan. 2010

Saarbrücken IFF, Max Ophülspreis Jan. 2010

Berlinale, EFM, Feb. 2010

SEE - Brighton Int. Documentary Film Festival

SOLELUNA - Int. Docfilm Festival, Palermo, Italy- July 2010

SIEFF - Int. Ethnographic Festival,  Sardinia -  Italy,Sept. 2010   

TOROS D'OC – Int. Taurine Film Festival ,   Beziers, France, Oct. 2010

SEVILLE EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL / SEVILLA FESTIVAL DE CINE EUROPEO, Nov. 2010

 

 

Production, Direction, Cinematography

GÜNTER SCHWAIGER

Editing
PABLO PLANT, GÜNTER SCHWAIGER

Sound
MIGUEL REJAS

Music
WERNER RADITSCHNIG, ULI FUSSENEGGER

Production Manager
CRISTINA G. ALÍA

Produced by
MOSOLOV-P and GÜNTER SCHWAIGER FILM PRODUKTION

With:

JUAN GUERRERO, JUAN (JOHANN) DUQUE, DANIEL MENÉS “EL DANI”, ILUMINADO MENÉS, MARIANO AUMENTE “EL CAMPERO”, JESUS MEJÍAS “EL GALLO”,

PUPILS AND MAESTROS FROM MADRID BULLFIGHTING SCHOOL.

Also appearing, the Star bullfighters

UCEDA LEAL, SEBASTIAN CASTELLA, MORANTE DE LA PUEBLA and JOSÉ TOMÁS

 

 

 

Biofilmography

 

Günter Johannes Schwaiger
11-09- 1965. Neumarkt (Salzburg)


Filmography and theatre:

2010
Preproduction of a new documentary and a first feature fiction film 

2009
Production, direction and cinematography of ARENA documentary, 105 min, HD, coproduction with TVE (Spain), ORF (Austria)

www.arena-film.com 

2007
Written, directed and produced “HAFNER´S PARADISE ”documentary, 74 min. Beta SP

FIRST PRIZE “TIME OF HISTORY” Best Documentary Film VALLADOLID INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTIVAL, SEMINCI 2007

Festivals (selection): Locarno, Los Angeles, Valladolid, Hof, Diagonale, Guadalajara, Jerusalem, Warsaw, Sao Paulo, Florence, Rome, Cologne, Bergamo, Gijón, Lublin,…

www.hafnersparadise.com

2007
Written the script for feature film “Why”

2007
Collaborates with the director Freddy Más in his script “Amanecer de un sueño”

2006
Cofunder of the international filmmaker group “IMAGENES CONTRA EL OLVIDO” www.imagenescontraelolvido.com

2006 / 2007
CoWriter of the new script of the director Achero Mañas “Who is Carlos Buendía”

2005 / 2006
Installation „ Fosa comun “ (Massgrave) – in collaboration with Tom Lavin Gallery El Ojo Atómico - Madrid

2005 / 2006
“El Encargo“ script for feature film
Coproduction Austria - Spain

2005
Directed and produced “ SANTA CRUZ ...FOR EXAMPLE” documentary, BetaSP, 66 min., color

Award:
Special Award for Culture and Art City of Salzburg

2004
Directed for Television the Opera “ Triunfos y Lágrimas” Artistic Director: Jordi Savall, HerspérionXXI, Barcelona

2003
Director of the World First performance of the opera “Horizonte Cuadrado” from César Camarero. Teatro de la Abadía, Madrid /in Coproduction with Teatro Central, Sevilla 

2002
Script for the feature film : „Zero“

2000 / 2001:
“DER AUSFLUG/ LA EXCURSIÓN” (“The Excursion”), 35mm, 17 min., color, Spanish

Festivals (selection): SPAIN: Festival de Cine de Medina del Campo; Festival Int. del Mediterrània, Mallorca, Proyecta, Las Palmas; Int. Shortfilmfestival ELCHE (Alicante) , ALCALÁ/MADRID, ALPINALE - Int. Film Festival (Austria); SAO PAULO Int. Filmfestival, (Brazil) , CORTOIMOLA (Italy), DIAGONALE (Austria), MELILLA (Spain), HOF (Germany), CUZCO (Ecuador), WARSCHAU (Poland), CARACAS (Venezuela)

Awards: Best Director - XXIII Festival Int. of Indept. Cinema, Elche (Spain)

Best Fiction Fiction 35mm - XXIII Festival Int. of Indept. Cinema

1998 / 99
“ NIEMANDSLAND “ (“TIERRA DE NADIE“,“NO MAN´S LAND “), 35 mm , b/w,17min., Spanish

Festivals ( selection ): Palm Springs (USA), Sao Paulo, Alcala (Madrid), Rotterdam, Montecatini (Italy), Alpinale (Austria), Verden (RFA), Barcelona (Spain),..

1996 / 97
“ Fünf Füsse und ein Wunsch “ ( ” Cinco Pies y un Deseo”- “ Five Feet and one desire” ) 35 mm , 19 min., color, Spanish

Awards: Hauptpreis (best Film) Verden (RFA)

Festivals (selection) : Sitges(Spain), Cork (Irland), Sao Paulo (Brasil), Verden (RFA), Saarbrücken (Max Ophüls Preis) 97(RFA), Alcalá de Henares(Madrid, Spain), Diagonale (Austria) a.o.

1994 / 95:
“ SUPPENKASPER “ ( “LEON”), 16 mm , b/w, 17 min.

Awards: Uppsala Filmkaja ( best fiction film ) International Shortfilmfestival Uppsala, Sweden

Premio Extraordinario ( best film ) Festival Internat. Cine Independ. Elche, Spain, Primer Premio ( best film,16mm )Semana Internat. del Cortometraje de San Roque – Spain; Festivals (selection): Uppsala (Sweden), Bilbao, Elche, Cadiz, Alcalá - Madrid (Spain), Krakow (Poland), Grenzland Filmtage(RFA), Montecatini (Italy), a.o.

1994:
“ Das seltsame Ende eines Frühstücks in der Ewigkeit “

(El extraño final de un desayuno en la eternidad”, “The unusual end of a breakfast in eternity”), 16mm, b/w, 12 min.

Awards : Segundo Premio 16 mm Festival Internat. Cine Indep. Film Elche (Alicante), Menciòn de Honor , Mundial Badalona ( Barcelona)

Mejor Fotografia , Semana Internacional de Cine Naval y del Mar Cartagena

 

Biography

Günter Johannes Schwaiger

Born : 11- 09 - 1965 in Neumarkt (Salzburg)

1983 - 87: student of ethnology and drama at the University of Viena

1987 - 89 : lives and studies in Italy ( Rome and Milan )

since 90 : lives and works in Madrid and Austria

 

 

More Background On Arena-Film.com

 

Introduction

Arena-Film.com was the official website for ARENA (2009), a feature-length documentary by Austrian filmmaker Günter Schwaiger. Serving as both a press kit and cultural dossier, the site introduced the film’s themes, listed its production and creative credits, documented international festival screenings, and presented the director’s extensive biofilmography. Today, the website survives only in archived form, but it remains a valuable resource for understanding both the film and the cultural conversations surrounding it.

The following article provides a detailed account of Arena-Film.com, situating it within the wider context of European documentary filmmaking, the cultural debates around bullfighting, and Schwaiger’s broader career. It draws on archival site content and independent film databases to provide readers with a rich portrait of this once-active film site.

The Film ARENA (2009)

At the center of Arena-Film.com was ARENA, a documentary that explored the world of bullfighting not from the perspective of famous matadors alone, but through the eyes of young apprentices learning the craft. The film followed students of the Madrid Bullfighting School and accompanied them across Spain, France, and beyond, offering an intimate view into a subculture defined by artistry, tradition, and danger.

Schwaiger described the film as a mosaic: a collection of observations, encounters, and personal stories that together formed a larger picture. He avoided creating a didactic guide to bullfighting’s rules. Instead, he sought to show what the practice meant to those inside it, emphasizing its metaphorical and cultural dimensions. To him, bullfighting was less about cruelty and more about confronting fear, discipline, and ritualized performance.

The documentary featured not only apprentices and teachers but also star bullfighters such as Uceda Leal, Sebastián Castella, Morante de la Puebla, and José Tomás, situating the apprentices’ struggles within the broader tradition of the sport.

Ownership and Production

Arena-Film.com functioned as the official domain of the film’s production team. The credits listed on the site emphasized the international nature of the project:

  • Director / Cinematography: Günter Schwaiger

  • Producers: MOSOLOV-P and Günter Schwaiger Film Produktion

  • Coproducers: TVE (Spain) and ORF (Austria)

  • Editing: Pablo Plant, Günter Schwaiger

  • Sound: Miguel Rejas

  • Music: Werner Raditschnig, Uli Fussenegger

  • Production Manager: Cristina G. Alía

This collaboration reflected Schwaiger’s career trajectory. Born in Salzburg, Austria, he studied ethnology and drama before moving to Italy and then Spain, where much of his professional work took place. The multinational backing gave the film both cultural credibility and distribution potential.

The Website’s Content

Arena-Film.com was structured like a digital press book, offering concise, professional information for festival programmers, journalists, and audiences. Its main sections included:

  • Synopsis and Director’s Statement: Explaining the film’s thematic focus, Schwaiger’s intentions, and the “mosaic” approach.

  • Festivals and Premieres: A running list of international screenings, documenting the film’s global reception.

  • Credits: Detailing the creative, technical, and production team.

  • Biofilmography: A comprehensive overview of Schwaiger’s past films, awards, and collaborations.

Together, these sections positioned the site as both an informational tool and a cultural record.

Festivals and Premieres

Arena-Film.com carefully tracked the film’s roll-out across international festivals. Highlights included:

  • World Premiere: Viennale, Vienna International Film Festival, November 2009

  • Spanish Premiere: February 26, 2010

  • Austrian Premiere: March 5, 2010

Additional screenings and markets:

  • Biarritz Film Festival (FIPATEL) — January 2010

  • Saarbrücken International Film Festival (Max Ophüls Preis) — January 2010

  • Berlinale European Film Market (EFM) — February 2010

  • Brighton International Documentary Festival — 2010

  • SoleLuna International Doc Film Festival, Palermo — July 2010

  • Sardinia International Ethnographic Film Festival — September 2010

  • Toros d’Oc International Taurine Film Festival, Béziers — October 2010

  • Seville European Film Festival — November 2010

This itinerary demonstrated that the film reached not only general documentary festivals but also niche events focusing on ethnography and bullfighting culture.

Technical Profile

According to the site, ARENA was presented as:

  • Format: Feature-length documentary

  • Runtime: 105 minutes

  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 HD

  • Sound: Dolby Digital

  • Languages: Spanish and French

  • Subtitles: English

These specifications were crucial for programmers and buyers, ensuring the film could travel easily across markets.

The Site’s Voice

Arena-Film.com was notable for its reflective tone. The copy read less like advertising and more like a director’s notebook adapted for public view. Schwaiger used the site to emphasize:

  1. Observational Filmmaking: The film was described as a product of patience, curiosity, and astonishment rather than strict adherence to a pre-written script.

  2. Contextualizing Bullfighting: The site acknowledged the controversy surrounding bullfighting but argued for a nuanced, non-dogmatic exploration of the practice.

By balancing artistry with cultural debate, the website positioned ARENA as a documentary of ideas as well as images.

Audience

The website served several overlapping audiences:

  • Festival programmers and distributors: Quick access to technical specs, credits, and contact details.

  • Journalists and critics: Director’s statement, synopsis, and festival listings for reviews and features.

  • Students and researchers: Insight into bullfighting culture and its portrayal in contemporary European cinema.

  • General audiences: An introduction to the film’s themes and its place within the broader cultural conversation.

Cultural Significance

Bullfighting has long been a lightning rod for debate, symbolizing heritage and artistry to some, cruelty and outdated tradition to others. Arena-Film.com did not shy away from this tension but sought to frame bullfighting within a broader cultural history.

By focusing on apprentices, ARENA highlighted how traditions are passed down, how young people commit to dangerous paths in pursuit of mastery, and how ritual practices serve as reflections of societal values. The film situated bullfighting not as a spectacle to endorse or condemn outright but as a mirror of Western cultural contradictions.

Günter Schwaiger: The Filmmaker

The website also included a full biofilmography of Günter Schwaiger, showing his progression as a filmmaker:

  • Hafner’s Paradise (2007): Award-winning documentary examining a former Nazi officer living unrepentant in Spain.

  • Santa Cruz… For Example (2005): A cultural portrait set in Spain.

  • Short Films (1990s–2000s): Multiple award-winning shorts screened internationally.

By including this record, the website framed ARENA within a consistent body of work: Schwaiger’s films often tackled controversial, difficult, or culturally charged subjects with patience and empathy.

Popularity and Reception

While Arena-Film.com did not publish viewer ratings or box office numbers, the film’s festival screenings, industry listings, and TV broadcasts reflected significant recognition. In addition to festival circulation:

  • ARENA was later broadcast on ORF 2 (Austria) and 3sat (Germany/Switzerland/Austria), ensuring broader public reach.

  • Independent film databases such as Filmdienst, MUBI, and IMDb catalogued the film, further establishing its presence in the international documentary circuit.

Legacy of the Website

Though no longer active, Arena-Film.com remains significant as an archived record. It functioned as:

  • A marketing tool, supporting the film’s entry into global festivals.

  • An educational resource, introducing audiences to the world of bullfighting apprentices.

  • A cultural artifact, reflecting how early 21st-century filmmakers and producers used websites to contextualize and promote their work.

 

Arena-Film.com was more than a promotional website; it was a thoughtful presentation of a controversial yet deeply human documentary. By highlighting apprentices, maestros, and star matadors within the cultural mosaic of bullfighting, it invited audiences to consider tradition, fear, artistry, and ritual in new ways. The site’s combination of synopsis, credits, biofilmography, and reflective commentary ensured that ARENA reached beyond film festivals and into cultural conversations about heritage and identity.

 

 

Arena-Film.com