Signpainter Documentary

When Better Letters met ... Josef Samuel, Vienna’s Last Signpainter

Vienna-based graphic designer Tom Koch teamed up with Better Letters to produce the second in their series of biopics about veteran sign painters. This short film celebrates the life and times of Vienna’s last sign painter, Josef Samuel.

In the film, Stuart Freeman visits Europe’s only sign painting museum where the permanent exhibit shows unique works from four generations of the Samuel family, dating from 1877. Josef Samuel then takes viewers on an historical journey to a bygone era, sharing his expertise and providing insights into life as a Viennese sign painter.

Austria, 2018, 15 min.

Producer: Sam Roberts
Director: Tom Koch
Cinematography, Editing: Philipp Hezoucky / OHIL Film
Location Sound Mixer: Christoph Pichler / rotbart
Sound Design: Paul Matyas / Slivomat
Narrator: Stuart Freeman

Screenings

16/08/2018: Letterheads London Festival, Opening Night
19/09/2018: London Design Festival (Bankside Design District), Jerwood Space
05/10/2018: OFFF Vienna, Gösserhallen, Wien
06/10/2018: OFFF Vienna, Gösserhallen, Wien
19/10/2018:Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Detroit, USA
26/10/2018:Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Chicago, USA
02/11/2018:Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Atlanta, USA
08/11/2018:Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Orlando, USA
16/11/2018:Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Taylor/TX, USA
16/11/2018:Collective Letterheads Filmnight, Boyne Hill CC, Maidenhead, UK
03/02/2019: Mazeppa Lettering Week, Mazeppa, USA
15/02/2019:Silberfabrik, München
06/04/2019:WEI SRAUM.Designforum Tirol, Innsbruck
11/04/2019:IID – Ikejiri Institute of Design, Setagaya/Tokyo, Japan
11/04/2019:Munich Creative Business Week, in Kooperation mit tgm, München
17/05/2019: Berlin Letters Festival, Colonia Nova, Berlin
24/05/2019: Typographic Society Austria, Hauptbibliothek Wien
25/05/2019:Höhere Fachschule für Gestaltung, St. Gallen, Schweiz
04/06/2019:Film Night & Panel Discussion at Tactile Mk.3, London
08/06/2019: 47. Festival of Nations, Lenzing, OÖ
01/08/2019: PortoLetterheads, School of Arts and Design, Porto
15/09/2019: 3. Suburbinale Filmfestival, Groß-Enzersdorf/Wien

Screening
OFFF Vienna

Over the past decades, OFFF Barcelona has established itself as one of the world’s leading festivals for graphic design, visual communication, and digital art, with editions held in major cities such as London, New York, and Moscow. From 5 to 6 October 2018, it came to Vienna for the first time—where our film was screened on both days.

offfvienna.com

Screening London Design Festival

For this year’s London Design Festival, Better Letters are hosting a triple bill featuring two recent short biopics celebrating the life and times of three retired signwriters, Stan Wilkinson, Josef Samuel and Cliff Headford (RIP). Hosted by Jerwood Space within the Bankside Design District, there will be an opportunity to share a drink and ask questions of those involved in the making of these films.

19. September 2018, Jerwood Space

Screening
London Letterheads Festival

From 16 to 19 August 2018, more than 200 signwriters from 30 countries across five continents gathered in London for the 43rd Letterheads Festival. On the festival’s opening evening, our film on Josef Samuel—the last sign painter of Vienna—was screened for the first time.

On Location

For our documentary When Better Letters Met … Josef Samuel, Vienna’s Last Signpainter, radio presenter Stuart Freeman visits Europe’s only museum dedicated to sign painting.