TASCHENGELD (POCKET MONEY)

DIRECTED BY MATTEO SANDERS

Satire

Austria

16′

2025
SYNOPSYS
At the end of his shift, bus driver Stefan discovers a bag containing 32,000 euros. His office is unavailable, so he decides to hand the money in to the police. But on the way there, he is confronted with his own problems and doubts arise. The longer he has the bag with him, the deeper he maneuvers himself into an inner conflict. Should he really hand over the money?
DIRECTED BY Matteo Sanders PRODUCED BY Sophie Tschach, Matteo Sanders WRITTEN BY Vanessa Swoboda, Matteo Sanders WITH Stefan Rager Mariam Hage Peter Lesiak Constanze Winkler Tülay Aktas DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Sebastian Kubelka EDITOR Lea Sorgo SET DESIGNER Jana Rabofsky COSTUME DESIGNER Paul Göbel MUSIC different VFX ARTIST Theresa Klotz MAKE UP & HAIR Hanna Abril

AWARDS AND SELECTIONS

46. MAX OPHUELS FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection
2025

MATTEO SANDERS
BIO

 

Matteo Sanders was born in Innsbruck in 1989 and has been making his own short films, music videos and commercials since 2006. In 2017, he began his studies in directing and screenwriting at the Vienna Film Academy under Michael Haneke. In 2019 he spent a semester in Oslo, Norway, at the Westerdals School of Arts, Communication and Technology and in 2021 he was Artist in Residence in Paliano, Italy. In 2023, the short film “Am Grat” (2022 – “On The Edge”) was in the semifinals of the Student Academy Awards, as well as a Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere release in 2023. His short documentary ” 33′ 66º ” (2023) was included in the VOD of the Doc Around Europe network. In 2024 he completed the essay film trilogy “Farewell” (2024) with the artist Julia Haugeneder, which has been presented at an exhibition at Neue Galerie Graz in 2024. In January 2025, his short film “Taschengeld” (2025) had it’s premiere at the Max Ophüls Preis film festival.
2025
Pocket Money (Satire, 16', AT)