For what I've lost (The Girl behind the White Picket Fence) - Limited Edition of 10 Photograph

For what I've lost (The Girl behind the White Picket Fence) - 2013 - 20x24cm, Edition of 10, digital C-Print, based on a Polaroid, Certificate and Signature label, artist Inventory #13916, not mounted. Stefanie Schneider's THE GIRL BEHIND THE WHITE PICKET FENCE

 Stefanie Schneider’s taken her artwork to film. With over 10 years in the international art world to support her, ‘The Girl behind the White Picket Fence’ is Schneider’s first feature film. A dedicated Polaroid fan since the mid 1990’s who mastered the analog medium to it’s final dying breath. Since Polaroid stopped making the best film in the world, it’s been Schneider’s goal to buy as much as she could find. Knowing that there will never be another chance to fulfill her lifelong dream to make a movie, using her own original artwork style. Schneider scoured the Internet for Polaroid film. Trucks deliver boxes upon boxes of expired Polaroid film. Testing the randomly working film takes days, turning to years. Years of buying film, script writing, prop production, actor contracts, all done in little bits. Shooting film in California and compiling in Berlin, Germany, back and forth with each season. This film is the result of a dream that started with friends she loved such a long time ago. It’s dedicated to them. They know who they are. 
An artists world of movie stills, ‘The Girl Behind the White Picket Fence’ is a succession of Polaroid film stills. One after another, this film takes this to the limit and still delivers. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, flowing with the rhythm of the music or in the energy the film portrays. The gaps keeps the viewer paying close attention but after a little time, you no longer notice. All photographs are real analog Polaroid film so this is a one off, never to be replicated, a complete window into an artists mind as she sees the world. Sunny, hot, in love, open spaces evoking freedom but also banishment. This project was that each actor would write their own story about love and Schneider would piece them together to make some sense of fate. Ultimately, this work is the vision of Stefanie Schneider. As with any dream, the finished result came about not as originally planned but it happened and will never happen again. This film is about old fashioned analog beauty, combining love, choices of life. It’s a film about searching, about truth and sometimes where that truth takes us. 
This film started out with a vision of grand collectiveness with all participants coming from Schneider’s time in Hollywood ranging from directors to actors, producers to agents and writers to weirdos. The American dream was alive and well in this motley group who fell in love with Schneider’s idea to capture a story about love on Polaroid film. Funding started with Schneider procuring film from all over the world, creating a interactive website for the artists to collaborate on together and collecting material for the script. Shooting locations were scouted and life size props built. Caroline Haertel from ‘micafilm’ based in Berlin Germany joined Schneider who then brought in Kirsten Niehaus from ‘Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg’ and Barbara Haebe from Arte TV in Germany. Both of whom have been very supportive. 
The concept began to take shape. The realization of how to actually make the film became apparent with each tested Polaroid first taken, scanned, and then finally sequenced to about 4000 frames from over 5,000 actual Polaroid photographs. Each requiring about 30 minutes of work. 
The center of this story is the ‘Lonely Hearts Radio Station’ DJ, played by Steve Marshall who talks to the searching broken hearted in the southern Californian desert. A sad young girl calls in to better understand what is going on which results in an unexpected chain of events. Through dreams, memories and even mystics, Heather finds that you never know with whom, love finds you. There are signs if you only listen. If only, you’re aware. 
Main characters: Hans, the mystic played by the veteran actor Udo Kier. Heather’s a young girl who’s lost her parents played by Heather Megan Christie Radio station DJ played by the comic Steve Marshall Hank is the local garbage man played by Kyle Larson. A story about past love, present and future love. Emotions are poignantly explored while clashing with the brilliant color of Polaroid film. This is a Polaroid analog film experience about love that flirts with the serendipity of our subconscious.