When Better Letters met ...
Josef Samuel,
Vienna’s Last Signpainter


Vienna-based graphic designer Tom Koch teamed up with Better Letters to produce the second in their series of biopics about veteran sign painters. This short film celebrates the life and times of Vienna’s last sign painter, Josef Samuel.

Producer: Sam Roberts
Director: Tom Koch
Cinematography: Philipp Hezoucky / OHIL
Location Sound Mixer: Christoph Pichler
Sound Design: Paul Matyas / Slivomat
Narrator: Stuart Freeman


In the film, Stuart Freeman visits Europe’s only sign painting museum where the permanent exhibit shows unique works from four generations of the Samuel family, dating from 1877. Josef Samuel then takes viewers on an historical journey to a bygone era, sharing his expertise and providing insights into life as a Viennese sign painter.

Austria, 2018, 15 min.


Screenings

16/08/2018: Letterheads London Festival, Opening Night
19/09/2018: London Design Festival (Bankside Design District), Jerwood Space
05/10/2018: OFFF Vienna, Gösserhallen, Wien
06/10/2018: OFFF Vienna, Gösserhallen, Wien
19/10/2018: Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Detroit, USA
26/10/2018: Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Chicago, USA
02/11/2018: Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Atlanta, USA
08/11/2018: Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Orlando, USA
16/11/2018: Mike Meyer Lettering Tour, Taylor/TX, USA
16/11/2018: Collective Letterheads Filmnight, Boyne Hill CC, Maidenhead, UK
03/02/2019: Mazeppa Lettering Week, Mazeppa, USA
15/02/2019: Silberfabrik, München
06/04/2019: WEI SRAUM.Designforum Tirol, Innsbruck
11/04/2019: IID – Ikejiri Institute of Design, Setagaya/Tokyo, Japan
11/04/2019: Munich Creative Business Week, in Kooperation mit tgm, München
17/05/2019: Berlin Letters Festival, Colonia Nova, Berlin
24/05/2019: Typographic Society Austria, Hauptbibliothek Wien
25/05/2019: Höhere Fachschule für Gestaltung, St. Gallen, Schweiz
04/06/2019: Film Night & Panel Discussion at Tactile Mk.3, London
08/06/2019: 47. Festival of Nations, Lenzing, OÖ
01/08/2019: PortoLetterheads, School of Arts and Design, Porto
15/09/2019: 3. Suburbinale Filmfestival, Groß-Enzersdorf/Wien

Screening
London Letterheads
Festival

From 16 to 19 August 2018, over 200 sign writers from 30 countries and five continents gathered at the 43rd Letterheads Festival in London. On the opening night of the festival, our film about Josef Samuel, Vienna's last sign painter, was screened for the first time.
 

Screening
London Design Festival

 

For the 2018 London Design Festival, Better Letters hosted a triple bill featuring two short biopics celebrating the life and times of three retired signwriters: Stan Wilkinson, Josef Samuel and Cliff Headford.

Hosted at Jerwood Space in the Bankside Design District, the event also offered the chance to share a drink and put questions to those involved in making the films.