Director's Statement

Many years ago, a drunk man in a bar told me about something that had happened to him, which would eventually become the essence of the SLUMMING screenplay. At that time I was more intrigued by this guy's down and out existence than in his story. I never knew if he was telling the truth.

While working on my soccer documentary FRANCE, HERE WE ARE, I met "Kallmann, the Ball Man". He was going around from bar to bar selling soccer balls to earn some money. His electricity had been turned off, and he had candles everywhere in his apartment.

Research for another documentary required me to visit a lot of seedy bars in Vienna with a friend. This turned into a sort of obsession - we couldn't stop even after the film was shot.

I know a teacher, a very witty woman with a big heart. But sometimes she starts monologues about how she got cheated by somebody or exploited or taken advantage of...

Sometimes it doesn't matter if something you hear is true or not.