Riley: Narben premiered to a sold-out audience at Gartenbaukino, one of Vienna's great cinema rooms. What was it like watching it there for the first time with a full house?
Joshua: Being in a room with almost 800 people and watching something that started as a very personal idea come to life on one of the biggest screens in Vienna was incredibly special. It reminded me why I love cinema so much: you can feel the presence of other people in the room. You sense when something is being received, when something is translating emotionally.
To premiere Narben at the Gartenbaukino, which is such a historic and beautiful cinema, made the experience even more overwhelming. We had put so much heart and passion into the film, and suddenly it belonged to the audience as well. The Q&A afterwards was especially meaningful to me, because I could feel that the film had really connected with a lot of people.
Riley: Narben is inspired by a short story by Florian Fleischer. What was it about that story that made you want to turn it into a film?
Joshua: Florian Fleischer and I first worked together on my first film, where he acted in one of the roles. At the time, he had studied acting and was becoming more and more interested in writing. Later, he published a book of twelve short stories called Vom Tellerwäscher zum Geschirrspüler.
After some time without seeing each other, we reconnected, and he gave me the book. One of the stories was called Narben. It describes a young woman sitting in therapy, speaking about her inner emptiness, loneliness, and the feeling of being misunderstood by everyone around her — even by her therapist. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the therapist also carries scars.
That image stayed with me for a long time. I was not immediately thinking about turning it into a film, but I kept returning to it. What moved me was the idea that we should not judge someone before we have, in some way, walked in their shoes. That sentence also became important in the film.
From there, I started thinking about a different approach: what if the two women were not simply two separate people, but the same person at different points in life? What if the older version of this woman had reached a point where she could sit on the other side of the room and offer help, understanding, or simply presence to her younger self? That became the emotional core of the film.
Riley: Do you see Narben as a complete work in itself, or as a step towards something longer?
Joshua: I see Narben as a complete short film. It works in its little more than nine minutes because it feels like a memory — something brief, fragmented, and emotionally concentrated. Of course, the themes could be explored in a longer format, and I am very interested in psychological storytelling, memory, trauma, and the inner layers of a character. These are elements that appear again and again in my work.
The film itself will remain a short. I do not currently plan to expand it into a feature. What it did give me, however, was a deeper sense of how I want to work with actors and with emotional ambiguity. The actresses brought so much precision and honesty to the film, and that experience definitely influenced the way I think about future projects. I would say that parts of its emotional language will probably continue into my future work.
Riley: You are also part of the project management team at Schmeckt!, a festival built for filmmakers working outside the film school system. Does organising a festival like that change how you approach your own films?
Joshua: Yes, absolutely. It gives you a completely different perspective. For a long time, I was mainly on the other side: submitting films to festivals and waiting for answers. Being part of Schmeckt! showed me how much work, care, and responsibility goes into creating a space for other filmmakers.
This year, my focus was mainly on partnerships, sponsoring, press, media relations, and communication. Together with the team, I was also involved in shaping the festival and supporting the curation process. What inspired me most was seeing how many strong, honest, and beautifully made films were submitted by people working with very little money — sometimes with nothing more than a small camera, a clear idea, and the courage to tell a story.
That is exactly what Schmeckt! wants to spotlight: filmmakers who begin before they have perfect conditions. People who are brave enough to tell a story even when they are outside traditional structures. I was rejected from film school twice, and I kept going. So for me, this festival is also personal. It proves that there are different ways into filmmaking, directing, and storytelling. There is not just one path.
Riley: What was the biggest constraint on Narben — money, time, location — and how did it end up serving the film?
Joshua: The biggest challenge was definitely the location, especially because the film looks simple on paper: one room, two people. But the visual concept was actually quite ambitious. We wanted two very different emotional spaces. One part of the film has this warm, almost washed-out, sunlit atmosphere — bright, but still surreal. The other part needed to feel darker and more interior. That contrast was very important to the dramaturgy of the film.
For a long time, we could not find the right apartment. Three weeks before the shoot, we still had no location, which is quite stressful when you have to plan production design, lighting, logistics, and the entire technical setup. We looked at many apartments, but most of them would have required too much work. Then, almost by coincidence, our set manager Leonie found the perfect place through a friend. The apartment already had a lot of what we needed.
Of course, every solution created new challenges. The apartment was on the second floor, so lighting from outside became more complicated and more expensive. We also had to work very precisely with time, budget, and setup. But those limitations forced us to make clear decisions. There is always a bit of film magic in low-budget filmmaking. You plan as much as you can, and then things fall apart, change, or suddenly come together through friends, family, and coincidences. In our case, that energy served the film. It made the process more fragile, but also more human.
Riley: Finally, you are a busy man, Josh — but we are left wanting more. What is next for you in terms of directing, producing, writing, and Schmeckt!?
Joshua: I am currently developing my first feature film, The Water Beneath Us, with an Austrian production company. It is in the writing and funding process right now. The film is about two people crossing the North Atlantic Ocean by sailing boat and spending five weeks together on the open sea. It is based on a true event and will be a very psychological chamber piece — intimate, tense, and focused on the dynamics between two people in an extreme situation.
I am also developing two new short films. One is called Alles was bleibt sind wir, which is about the unconditional love between an older brother and his younger brother. It is set in Vienna during the summer and will require a careful casting process, especially for the child role. The other short film takes place entirely in the Vienna underground and follows an unconventional encounter between two strangers.
With Schmeckt!, we definitely have big plans. The festival will return next year, most likely again in June. We are also going to be part of the Rotlicht Festival in Vienna in November, where we will curate a short film block and host film talks. Rotlicht is a festival for analog photography, so it feels like a very fitting context for us.
What we want to build with Schmeckt! is more than just a festival. We want it to become a platform for young artists who need visibility, connection, information, and a sense of community. There is still too much gatekeeping in the industry. We believe there should be more openness, more exchange, and more togetherness. That is what we are trying to create.