PRESS
EXCERPTS
"Schneidkraut takes documentary terror to another level with 'Seeking Wellness Part 1: Cup of Friendship/Shrine of Scars'. Two sadistic droogs invade a hospital and proceed to rape and murder the staff and it's patients. Shot entirely through an array of video surveillance cameras- which cycle at mind numbing eight second intervals- Schneidkraut's film is the kind of thinky/sadistic exercise that even the dark prince of psychological horror Michael Haneke might find difficult to watch. Now that's fucking scary." - John Behling, City Pages, October 2007
"Seeking Wellness Part Two: Daddy’s Time - Daniel Schneidkraut - If there was one short film on display at this years Filmstock, that I'd recommend to up and coming low budget filmmakers to watch, this would be it. The film consists of two shots and a slideshow of old family photographs for its whole 24 minute duration, yet it managed to keep me totally engrossed throughout. The acting is superb and even in the voiceover the lead actor manages to portray a wide range of emotions, whilst the children acting in the piece tell us so much without ever uttering a word. Schneidkraut’s film is scarily believable and his basic approach to film making just adds to that believability, it's almost like we have a disturbing view into the life of this very dysfunctional family. Whilst speaking to Justin about this film, he brought up a good point, if this is Seeking Wellness Part Two, is there a Seeking Wellness Part One?" - El Vez, Directors Notes' Review of Filmstock International, November 2007
"Daniel Schneidkraut’s film series is incredibly disturbing. I won’t say anything more except it needs to be seen to believed. This has been doing well on the minor festival circuit, winning awards for most disturbing film, etc. Schneidkraut’s films are meant to provoke and disturb. You’ve been warned. And you won’t be dissapointed." - Erik McClanahan, Minnesota Film and T.V. Board, August 2008
"...sublime yet terrifying..." - FILMSTOCK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, November 2008
"Stunningly depraved masterpiece from writer/director Daniel Schneidkraut, unfolding through a series of four equally compelling and unbelievable segments. A group of gunmen brutally assault and murder patients in a burns ward. An unbalanced father shares his stories of childhood trauma with his own kids during a Christmas to remember. A heart-broken lover seeks out a truly unique form of self-harm. A student conducts controversial research and an astonishing classroom experiment. This film really has to be seen to be believed. Funny and frightening, sharp-witted and shocking, disturbing and disgusting - think Michael Haneke with a twist of David Cronenberg and you might have something close to what Schneidkraut's film has to offer. MUFF can't rate this one highly enough on either concept or delivery; it's 100% quality and 100% unmissable. No arguments - just go see it. " - MELBOURNE UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL, August 2009
"Most of the films at MUFF are far from being lighthearted: one look at the programming reveals a series of low-budget horror and suspense films, as well as some experimental works, all designed to shock the viewer, get us thinking and give more to chew on than your typical multiplex fare.
Daniel Scheinkraudt's[sic] Seeking Wellness, however, is in a class all its own.
Subtitled Suffering in Four Movements[sic], the film isn't precisely fiction. It's a series of short vignettes, shot on video, all on the topic of human suffering. It's a harsh and nightmarish view of human nature, from its most unpredictable - two masked thugs massacre the patients of a burn ward through the view of security cameras - to its most pathetic: a traumatized father shares his dark past with his children, and a suicidal man does everything possible to give himself cancer and die. This uncompromising film appeals to the voyeur in all of us. Being shot with video cameras gives it a terrifying air of naturalism, and, like a car crash, no matter how gruesome, we can't turn away. Seeking Wellness's images are disturbing and at times uncomfortable to watch, but one thing's for sure: love it or hate it, you can't stay indifferent to a project like this. " - Ernesto Zelaya, Urban Cinefile, September 2009FEATURES
"The Blasphemer" - Article By Joshua Lesuer of Minnewood- July 2008
Extended PodCast Interview w/MarBelle of Directors Notes - July 2008