Go to content
Documentary, drama and animation come together in this biographical sketch. The psychotic 19th century German judge Daniel Paul Schreber wrote memoirs that formed valuable source material for Freud and his successors.

With a mix of documentary, stirringly dramatised scenes and animation, Shock Head Soul is a poignant biographical sketch of the life and work of Daniel Paul Schreber, a German judge who became psychotic in 1893, at the height of his career werd. Schreber believed he had contact with God via the Writing Down Machine, a precursor of the typewriter, and that only his transformation into a woman could save the world. His memoirs, published later, about his lengthy stay in an institution formed unique source material for Freud and other scientists. Actors enact moments from his pathological process and various contemporary psychiatrists and scientists, dressed in 19th century attire, throw light on the possible causes of his affliction. Was he a mystic, a believer or a madman?

Title: Shock Head Soul
Year: 2011
Duration : 1 hour, 23 minutes
Category: Feature film
Edition: NFF 2012

Blik naar buiten(land)Geschiedenis

NFF Archive

You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.