The Story
“White Beauty – A Stallion’s Life”is a film about the oldest domesticated breed of horse to be found anywhere in the world. With breath-taking photography this is the first time that the complete story of the world-famous white stallions of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna has been told in detail. The film tells of the horses’ ancestry in North Africa, to the conquest by the Moors of a large part of what is today Spain, to how the Lipizzaner horse became the symbol of European Nobility.
Our story begins almost a thousand years ago in North Africa when the warrior tribes that are now called the Berbers lived and roamed through the deserts and hills of what is now Morocco. For them the horse symbolises freedom, beauty, strength and power, and their horsemanship was legendary. The Berber warriors were the perfect example of ‘man and animal working together in perfect harmony’.
Today that perfect harmony between horse and rider can still be witnessed at the Spanish Riding School. Thankfully, the times of war are now past, but the power and majesty of the horse is still strong in the human mind. For centuries these horses were the proud symbols of European nobility, and over time the horse that was once a warrior became a king.
This intriguing documentary takes us behind the scenes of the Riding School and reveals the private lives of these white stars away from the glamour and rigor of Vienna’s Hofburg. We are given a privileged insight into the close and tight bond between a mare and her foal, until the heartbreaking moment when the foals are weaned and must be separated from their mothers. We also see a stallion as he goes to his ‘first day at school’ at the training centre at Heldenberg in Lower Austria to follow in the footsteps of generations of stallions before him. And we are present when a Lipizzaner finally goes into a well-deserved retirement away from the arena.
2011 - 2013
HD & 5.1
16:9
52 min
German & English
Production Team
Written, directed, photographed by Michael Schlamberger ● Editor Omer Sacic ● Music David Peter Rosmanith, Klaus Trabitsch ● Aerial Photography Irmin Kerck ● Camera Assistant Mario Cater ● Location Sound Martin Rohrmoser, Gerd Jochum, Raimund Sivetz● Foley Artists Stanislav Cajthaml, Marie Chvostová, Milan Jakl ● Dubbing Editor Martin Rohrmoser ● Dubbing Mix Peter Moritz ● Colourist Willi Willinger ● Music performed by Wiener Philharmoniker (Universal Music), Daniel Morales Martinez, Alfonso und Miguel Moreno Linares, Marwan Abado, Franz Hautzinger, Pamelia Kurstin, Otto Lechner, Joe Pinkl, Adula Ibn Quadr, Kadero Rai, Reinhard Ziegerhofer ● Location Managers Ruth Schmid, Hamid Herraf, Olina Edney ● Legal Department Sonja Hofmann ● Production Manager Anita Pfeffinger ● Line Producer Friedrich Gruner ● Executive Producers Bettina Kuhn, Sabine Holzer ● Producers Heinrich Ambrosch, Rita Schlamberger
A production of ScienceVison and Satel Film, in association with Servus TV, Terra Mater Factual Studios and THIRTEEN, supported by CINESTYRIA Filmcommission and Fonds, RTR-Fernsehfonds Austria, Filmfonds Wien and Land Niederösterreich.
Photo Gallery
Awards
Cannes Corporate Media & TV Award
France, October 2013, Silver Dolphin“ category „History and Civilization“
Impact 2014
Italy, March 2014, Finalist
20th International Environmental Film Festival ENVIROFILM
Slovakia, May 2014, Finalist
International Jahorina Eco&Tourfilm Festival 2014
Bosnia & Herzegovina, October, 2014, Winner “Golden Blueberry” category “Tourism”
Wildlife Vaasa Filmfestival
Finland, October 2014, Finalist Nomination “Natural History”
SILA Fest, Silver Lake Tourfilm Festival
Serbien, September 2015, White Acacia (Best Screenplay)