Halleluja! Der Herr ist verrückt!

Alfredo Knuchel

If there is a Truth, it surely does not lie within the norm.

Artist Adolf Wölfli, writers Robert Walser and Friedrich Glauser: they all have something in common. The lunatic asylum Waldau near Berne – today a modern psychiatric university clinic – served them as a place of retreat and artistic creation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, psychiatrist Walter Morgenthaler began his famous art collection comprising works by Wölfli- the forefather of Art Brut - and other Waldau patients. Today, the collection consists of over 3000 works and can be seen at the Waldau Psychiatric Museum. Most of Wölfli’s 25 000 writings and sketches have since been donated to the Adolf Wölfli Foundation at the Fine Arts Museum in Berne.

ALLELUJA! THE LORD IS MAD portrays six people and introduces us to their creative works and lives. They all share two similarities: a long history of illness and a strong will for artistic expression. They ‘re living legacies of Morgenthaler’s vision and the Waldau tradition of serving as an artist’s retreat.

It’s hard to imagine the Waldau premises without two of the clinic’s craftsmen: locksmith Heinz Feldmann who spent decades collecting material which can now be seen at the Waldau Psychiatric Museum (in fact, it was thanks to him that Morgenthaler’s collection was rescued), and painter Otto Frick who offers patients help and guidance in pursuing their artistic ambitions.

Alfredo Knuchel

* 1938 in Berne, journalist, 1987-91 director of the Swiss Film Center Foundation, since 1991 self taught documentary film makera and festival programme adviser

2004 HALLELUJA! DER HERR IST VERRÜCKT
1999 VAGLIETTI ZUM DRITTEN
1996 BESSER UND BESSER

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Halleluja! Der Herr ist verrückt!