Private Project

Keep Your Head Up

A documentary on a naked „Schuhplattler“ by Franzi Kreis

Simon Mayer is writing a new chapter of folk-dance. Educated at the Vienna State Opera Ballet School, his career brought him to selling out many concert halls in Europe in 2017 and tour destinations including Canada, Israel, and China. He’s journeyed from his parents’ farm in Upper Austria to the ImPulsTanz-Vienna International Dance Festival to perform in renowned venues such as the Wiener Volkstheater and Burgtheater Kasino.

Franzi Kreis has accompanied the dancer and performance artist with her camera since the premiere of his solo “SunBengSitting” in 2014. This documentary about breaking with traditions spans 6 years and portrays Simon Mayer as a multifaceted artist within the charged atmosphere of his company, Kopf hoch "Keep Your Head Up".

Additional information: scenes and photos showing naked dancers may only be used in a screening and not for advertising (agreement with protagonists).

  • Franzi Kreis
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,400 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Austria
  • Country of Filming:
    Austria
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Franzi Kreis

Franzi Kreis is a freelance artist based in Vienna. Her generational storytelling projects, “Finding Motherland” and “Father Earth”, have been drawing attention from Vienna to Moscow.
She works as a photographer for the Wiener Festwochen performing arts festival and, amongst others, for the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, the Wienbibliothek (Vienna Library) in Rathaus, and Brut Vienna. She portrays different artists on and off stage. Her first coffee table book, “Limelight”, was published in 2020.

“Kopf hoch” is her debut in filming.

Add Director Biography