ABSOLUT WARHOLA

(Philadelphia, March 9, 2004) From rising German director Stanislaw Mucha comes one of the most intriguing art documentaries in recent years, Absolut Warhola, released by TLA Releasing on its International Film Festival VHS/DVD label. The film traces the ancestry of Andy Warhol’s peculiar past and exposes a history never seen until now.

THE FILM: Described by Variety as “the film equivalent of a pleasant white wine with a kicker to it,” Absolut Warhola (Germany, 2001, 80 minutes, in Slovak and Ruthenian with English subtitles) examines the surprising heritage of one of the most famous artists of the century, Andy Warhol. The film tracks his ancestry back to the small town of Miková in Eastern Europe and visits the only pop-art museum in Europe, located in nearby Medzilborce.

After traveling to the countryside, director Stanislaw Mucha interviews the peasant relatives of Andy about the art he created. Though aware of Andy’s success, these distant cousins have no understanding of his work or the world that made him a star. In fact, the family has such little comprehension of his significance that when he would send them his art, they would turn it into everyday items, such as toys or clothing. No one knows the man that left them so many years ago, but each is proud to call him their own and bear his old-world name Warhola.

With a gentle humanistic touch, Absolut Warhola swings between the pop art of Warhol and his old-world heritage. Through an abstract editing style and a surrealistic musical accompaniment, the movie succeeds in echoing the pop art that made Andy Warhol a modern icon.

Candid interviews create an intriguing paradox between the worlds of stylish art and a rustic reality.

Winner, 2001 German Film Critics Prize for Best Documentary Film and the Audience Prize at the 2001 Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival. “Absolut Warhola will have its part in film history as most curious and thoughtful documentary on pop art.”--Der Spiegel (Slovak & Ruthenian with English subtitles)