"AB 13: CALIFORNIA’S LAW FOR A SMOKEFREE WORKPLACE

AB 13 is a statewide smoking regulation for enclosed places of employment. It protects employees throughout the state from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke is a known cancer-causing agent in non-smoking adults. When workplace smoking is eliminated, employee health, productivity and morale are boosted; and employers avoid costly smoke-related worker’s compensation claims.

AB 13 (did) allow some facilities to be excluded from the smoking prohibition:

Gaming clubs, bars and taverns (were) excluded until January 1998. As of January 1, 1995, if a bar (was) located within a restaurant, smoking (was) only allowed in the IMMEDIATE BAR AREA."

The Story:

A tanned muscular guy in jeans and t-Shirt, a well-groomed biker type, is riding his Indian Motorcycle in summer. He arrives at a small highway bar and enters. The bar is divided into a part with pool-tables, a dance floor and the bar with the stools and tables: The audience is mixed: a couple of bikers, some pierced guys, a few college kids, some hillbillies with base caps, daring looking pool players, provocatively dressed girls. (No ashtrays are to be seen.) The biker takes a seat at the bar, orders some coffee which is served by the bartender, an older guy wearing a white apron. The biker sips his coffee, then he takes a cigarette hard pack out of his t-shirt sleeve and lights one. The audience around him is paralyzed. A hillbilly guy draws a gun out of his pocket, aims at the biker and shoots him from behind, shouting "You fucking smoker!" at him (OFF), while he puts the gun away. The smoker is falling to the floor. The audience is giving standing ovations. A cigarette pack is fading in: California Über Alles(TM), below is shown: Surgeon General's Warning: "Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks For Your Health."

The Look:

The film looks like an advertising film. It was shot on 16 mm-format, and there is only the music and atmo, no dialogues.

Music:

neXus7Pheromone

The Staff:
Screenplay,  Director & Production: Gerti Walz; Directors of Photography: Andreas Heldrich & Christoph Bertolo.

The Actors:
Ralf Multhaup, Paul Freitag, Thomas Jäger, Michael Aster, Sönke Ahrens, Stephan Haas, Alex Nowak, Chris Nowak & Robi Scherer.
 
 
 
 

The Feature premiered on 29th of March 2003 at the 5th Independent Days in Karlsruhe, Germany.