Artist, anarchist, drop-out, paperless immigrant: Giovanni Segantini was all of this. He created, usually under the open sky, monumental, idealized alpine landscapes. In the course of his lifetime, he climbed ever higher in search of more light, finally dying at 41 in an Engadin alpine hut at 2700m. The film offers insight into his difficult childhood and boyhood, shares his inner processes and crises as a painter, as well as his contradictory dealings with motherly love and eroticism – and ultimately his desperate struggle against death…

Picture gallery

Giovanni Segantini - Magic of Light by Christian Labhart offers a nice alternative to the classic documentary about the life and work of a painter: the first person narration; by filming Segantini’s paintings to illustrate their literary and poetic aspects; by giving meaning to the emotional and historical works in telling the story of the artist, of his melancholia and his experiences. The film exudes passion through a unique combination of images that are skillfully intertwined with Segantini’s life. Not surprisingly, the prerequisite for audiences to appreciate the work of the director is a strong desire to delve into the painter's life. Otherwise they will probably be bored.