Flim Flam: Siegfried A. Fruhauf’s Hypnotic Exploration of Perception at Berlinale 2026
What is real, and what is merely a product of our own perception? These questions lie at the heart of Flim Flam, the latest work from Austrian filmmaker Siegfried A. Fruhauf, which premiered at the Berlinale 2026. The film offers viewers a unique cinematic experience, inviting them to turn into active participants in the unfolding narrative and question the reliability of what they see.
Deception and the Cinematic Experience
The term “flim flam” itself suggests a kind of deception, often associated with magicians or con artists. Fruhauf utilizes this concept to explore how cinema can “deceive” the viewer, beginning with a direct instruction: to focus on the center of the screen for one minute. What follows is a mesmerizing sequence of black dots rotating on a grey background, shifting and overlapping before transforming into the image of a zebra.
Visual and Auditory Illusions
Flim Flam doesn’t stop at the zebra. The film employs a series of visual tricks, including inverted exclamation marks that zoom in and out, creating further optical illusions. Images of zebras running, sometimes in leisurely motion, blend and overlap, while a child’s hands holding a toy zebra are presented as almost abstract images through sophisticated cross-fades.
The film incorporates excerpts from East Africa (1961–1962) and Minks + Vienna (Gerhard Zabransky, 1960–1965) to enrich the visual experience. The sound design, featuring the audio of an old Super 8 camera and heavy rain, further immerses the viewer in a captivating auditory landscape.
A Reflection on Reality and Perception
Fruhauf’s work consistently challenges viewers to consider the nature of cinema and its relationship to reality. Flim Flam explicitly asks: what is real, and what is the result of our perception? To what extent can we trust what we see on screen? The film doesn’t offer answers, but instead provides the “precious freedom” for the viewer to experience this questioning in a completely subjective way, effectively making them the main actor in the cinematic event.
About the Filmmaker
Siegfried A. Fruhauf, born in Grieskirchen, Austria in 1976, studied experimental visual design at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz, where he has also been a teacher since 2009. His work frequently reflects on the language of cinema itself and its interaction with the audience. Recent festival appearances include the Berlinale Shorts Competition with Flim Flam, the klubkatarakt festival in Hamburg, and the PUNTO y RAYA Festival in Sofia. More information about Siegfried A. Fruhauf can be found on his official website.
Film Details
- Original title: Flim Flam
- Directed by: Siegfried A. Fruhauf
- Country/year: Austria / 2026
- Running time: 15’
- Genre: animation, experimental
- Screenplay: Siegfried A. Fruhauf
- Cinematography: Siegfried A. Fruhauf
- Produced by: Siegfried A. Fruhauf
Further details can be found on the Berlinale website and Cinema Austriaco.