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Swiss artist Andreas Walser died March 19, 1930, presumably from an overdose of drugs. A mere 18 months lie between his leaving the Swiss mountain-town of Chur to go to Paris and his premature death. Almost all of Walser's written and painted oeuvre was created during this brief interlude. Much of his work is lost, but in the early 1980s a significant find was made in a Parisian attic flat – almost 200 works as well as manuscripts, letters and other documents. Walser's life is an odyssey through the literary and artistic milieu of Paris. Both in his work and in his personal life, times of unbridled optimism alternate abruptly with profound depression and premonitions of death. Walser produced his work at a fast, rapturous clip and enjoyed the recognition of important contemporary artists. Picasso endeavored to sell his paintings. Cocteau tried to help his friend kick the drug habit, especially the morphium. His friendship with Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Augusto Giacometti lasted until his death. And his letters to Bärby Hunger are a moving confession. This film traces the brief life of an early modern artist who remains to be discovered, and introduces viewers to his clearly independent oeuvre.

Switzerland - 2007 - 52 mn - HD - Colour

Director Heinz Bütler Writer Heinz Bütler Camera Matthias Kälin Sound Jürg von Allmen, Martin Witz Editing Anja Bombelli

Production NZZ Film - Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Falkenstrasse 11, Postfach, 8021 Zürich, Suisse Tél : +41 44 258 14 88 E-mail : film@nzz.ch Co-Production 3 Sat, Schweizer Fernsehen DRS

Sales Accent Films, Rue de la Gare 46, 1820 Montreux, Suisse Tél : +41 21 963 9300 Fax : +41 21 963 9305 E-mail : info@accent-films.com