A journey through time with the smell of gasoline awaits visitors to the Technik Museum Speyer at the film premiere of "Walter & Michèle". The film deals with the 1982 World Rally Championship with the legendary battle between the German Walter Röhrl and the Frenchwoman Michèle Mouton. Together with rally icon Walter Röhrl himself, filmmaker Helmut Deimel and photographer Reinhard Klein, who were on location at the time, provide a unique insight into the rally events of the 1980s.
Following the film premiere, protagonist Walter Röhrl will give an autograph session. The film and discussion will take place on March 18, 2023 from 2 pm to 4 pm in the Forum Kino of the Technik Museum Speyer. The autograph session will then begin in the space hall. Admission to the film screening including the museum costs €32 for adults and €29 for concessions. Members receive special rates. Tickets are available online in advance, subject to change.
The 1982 World Rally Championship
A duel broke out between Walter Röhrl and Michèle Mouton on various levels in the early 1980s. It was a duel of the sexes, a duel of generations and a duel of technical requirements. The young Frenchwoman was one of the first to drive an all-wheel-drive Audi, while Walter Röhrl, 35 years old at the time, drove his rear-wheel-drive Opel. The spectacle lasted the entire year and went around the world once. Not only die-hard rally fans followed how motorsport history was made here. The film "Walter & Michèle" tells the story of the most exciting World Rally Championship of all time with original footage from back then and will celebrate its premiere at the Technik Museum Speyer on March 18, 2023.
Helmut Deimel and Reinhard Klein
Filmmaker Helmut Deimel makes a special trip from Vienna to offer visitors unprecedented insights. Deimel and rally photographer Reinhard Klein (Mc Klein) will be available for a question and answer session during the screening. Both will be able to talk about decades of rallying history, as the perspective of a cameraman and a photographer inevitably results in numerous stories and experiences behind the scenes. Klein has been working as a rally photographer since 1977 and is well-known in the scene with his agency McKlein. Austrian Helmut Deimel has also been following the rally action behind the camera for decades.
Initiative of the "Slowly Sideways" group
The collaboration of renowned motorsport journalists celebrating the film premiere of "Walter & Michèle" at the Technik Museum Speyer can be traced back to the museum's large circle of friends. The "Slowly Sideways" group is an international association of car enthusiasts who have set themselves the task of preserving the history of rallying. The history of rally cars and attention to detail always play a major role in this. Reinhard Klein can be described as the "father" of the group. The film premiere will be hosted by Ralf Antweiler, who already actively contributed to the success of the opening of the Walter Röhrl special exhibition. Antweiler is also a member of "Slowly Sideways" and the lender of one of the original Röhrl vehicles. The Walter Röhrl special exhibition can be seen at the Technik Museum Speyer until April 16, 2023.
Further information on the film premiere can be found here.
