LUIS TRENKER–(DIS-)CONTINUITIES OF A TRANSALPINE MEDIA BRAND

Luis Trenker, who was born in 1892 in Val Gardena in South Tyrol and died in 1990 in Bolzano, is probably the most popular transalpine media figure of the 20th century. From the 1920s onwards, he was active as an actor, director, producer and author in Germany and Italy, but also in Austria, Switzerland, France and the USA. To this day, he is closely associated with mountain films, Heimat novels and TV series, especially through numerous reruns by TV stations such as ORF and Bayerischer Rundfunk, and more recently through the reissues of selected films and series as DVD boxes. Younger generations know the name Trenker from documentaries or discussions about his life on YouTube or by current productions such as Wolfgang Murnbergers biopic Luis Trenker The Narrow Ridge of the Truth (ARD/ORF 2015), which features renowned actors Brigitte Hobmeier and Tobias Moretti. Frequently, these narratives offer a critical take on the career of the artist. Then again, they also stabilize the media brand Trenker. In fact, the name itself has become independent from the historical person and evolved into an autonomous transalpine brand. For example, the alpine lifestyle company Luis Trenker has offered alpine fashion and hotel accessories in intercontinental shops and online since 1995. This project explores the manifold transformations of the transalpine media brand Trenker. The starting points are his three central fields of work, popular literature, film and TV series, as well as Trenkers media reception during and after his lifetime. The media figure Trenker will be examined and contextualized across epochs, countries and media. Three sets of questions guide the investigation of his media legacy. These questions will provide a multi-perspective view of Trenker as a public figure, the continuities, cracks and paradoxes that form his public image: 1) Today, Trenker is known mainly because of his German film career, which he started at the side of Leni Riefenstahl and Arnold Fanck. At the same time, he has been closely connected with Italy, especially South Tyrol, but also with Rome throughout his life. What constitutes Trenkers transalpine identity? In which ways is Italianness important for the figure and its media products? 2) The mountains and the Alpine region represent clear continuities in Trenkers career and the perception of his personality. How paradoxical and fragile is the relationship between the staging of nature, the Nazi past and the Heimat genre? Is it possible that, in the context of the current climate- change discourse, his work conveys an early awareness of ecological issues or is this pure (self-) marketing? 3) Trenker may be considered a popular hero of the mountains, but his work spans many genres, countries and decades. How can his masculinity be understood anew from a long-term perspective, i.e. against the background of medial and political ruptures, but also in the context of his own aging and alienation? And finally, how fragile is the media brand Trenker read against this backdrop?