Studio & Music
WildMint.
Wilde Minze · A documentary by Jenny Gand & Lisa Rettl.
Original score and film mixing for an intimate portrait of Helga Emperger — her memories, her strength and the lasting consequences of Nazi persecution.
Explore project
- Project
- Wilde Minze · Documentary film
- Year
- 2009
- Role
- Composer · Re-recording mixer
- Services
- Original score · Film mixing
Listen to the music
From the soundtrack.
Six variations from the original score.
- 01
Theme 04
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- 02
Theme 05
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- 03
Theme 06
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- 04
Theme 07
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- 05
Theme 09
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- 06
Theme 17
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Wild Mint (Wilde Minze) is a documentary by filmmaker Jenny Gand and historian Lisa Rettl, first shown in 2009 and released in Austrian cinemas in 2010. At its centre is Helga Emperger, whose mother Maria Peskoller supported resistance to the Nazi regime. Mother and daughter were imprisoned by the Gestapo. In December 1944, Maria was executed in Graz; Helga, then almost sixteen, survived.
The film follows the traces of that loss in Helga’s everyday life, but also her humour, curiosity and remarkable capacity for joy. Family photographs, familiar places and journeys abroad become points of connection between past and present. Meeting Helga personally made her strength and warmth especially tangible during the work on the film.
Music that leaves room.
The original score and final film mix were developed in close collaboration with both filmmakers. The challenge was to hold Helga’s character and the emotional weight of her story together: her Carinthian roots, her wider world and her vitality, alongside memories that remain painful. The music needed to follow those shifts without stepping in front of her voice.
A melody Helga began humming during filming became a recurring thread: “Is schon still uman See”, composed by Günther Mittergradnegger with lyrics by Gerhard Glawischnig. Different arrangements carry it through the film, connecting the original score to a song that already belonged to Helga’s own life.
Screenings
Vienna premiere · FrauenFilmTage · 2010
DOK Leipzig · Film market · 2010
Director’s filmography · PDFFrom the film
Memories & places.
Original stills from Wilde Minze · Jenny Gand & Lisa Rettl.
Watch the trailer
Open on YouTubeCollaborators
Film by — Jenny Gand & Lisa Rettl Script, direction, cinematography & editing — Jenny Gand Script, interviews, research & production — Lisa Rettl Original score & film mixing — Michael Dörfler Featuring — Helga Emperger
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