If One Thing Matters - A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans

At one time he became known for his seemly spontaneous photos of club life and party binges. But Wolfgang Tillmans was soon regarded as a great deal more than a chronicler of the techno generation. In the year 2000 he was the first photographer and the first non-Briton to receive the renowned Turner Prize. Today Wolfgang Tillmans is one of the best-known and most sought-after photographers in the world.

Heiko Kalmach′s film takes up the title of Tillman′s first great one-man-show "if one thing matters, everything matters" in the London Tate Gallery (2003) and looks – like the exhibition itself – at the multifarious work of the artist. Kalmbach took his video camera and accompanied the photographer over the course of four years in order to get a take on his personality and working methods. How does Wolfgang Tillmans approach his subject? When does a picture become a work of art, when does the seemingly banal become something else, something of a higher quality? In this way he was able by means of observation and impromptu interviews to portray Tillmans without resorting to expert commentary. Instead, the film conveys a lively impression of what drives the person and the artist Wolfgang Tillmans – why and how he works and how he moves within the international art business without losing his receptiveness for the special aspects of everyday life. "If One Thing Matters" – a search for the core of artistic creation.

Source: 58. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)