is an Austrian avant-garde filmmaker who works exclusively with found footage. All of his work is done with film and heavily edited in the darkroom, rather than relying on technological modes.
Peter Tscherkassky was born October 3, 1958 in Vienna, Austria. He attended the Primary School in Mistelbach from 1965 - 1969 and Jesuit boarding school from 1969 - 1975 in Vienna. He attended BORG (high school) Mistelbach and graduated in June 1977. From 1977 - 1979 Tscherkassky studied journalism and political science as well as philosophy at the University of Vienna. His first encounter with avant-garde film was in January 1978 when he attended a five-day lecture series by P. Adams Sitney at the Austrian Film Museum.
Tscherkassky began filming in 1979 when he acquired Super-8 equipment and before the end of the year he had scripted and started of the shooting of Kreuzritter. Throughout his career he conceived numerous film festivals including “The Light of Periphery – Austrian Avant-Garde Film 1957–1988” (1988), “Im Off der Geschichte” (1990), “Found Footage – Filme aus gefundenem Material” (1991), and “Unknown Territories – The American Independent Film” (1992). He was also the founding member of the newly Austria Filmmakers Cooperative which began in 1982 and resigned from his position there in 1993. His most recent work Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the series "Quinzaine des réalisateurs."
Filmography:
1981 Bloodletting
1982 Erotique
1982 Love Film
1983 Freeze Frame
1983 Holiday Movie
1983 Miniaturen - Many Berlin Artists in Hoisdorf
1984 Motion Piction
1985 Manufracture
1986 kelimba
1987 Shot Countershot
1987/89 tabula rasa
1992 Parallel Space: Inter-View
1996 Happy-End
1997/98 L'Arrivée
1999 Outer Space
1999 Get Ready
2001 Dream Work
2005 Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine
2006 Nachtstück (Nocture)
2010 Coming Attractions