AUDIENCE AWARD, SHOOTING END FOR 2 FEATURE FILMS, CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, GLORIA! IN CINEMAS
INGEBORG BACHMANN – JOURNEY INTO THE DESERT receives Audience Award
Congratulations to the 28th Berlin & Beyond Film Festival 2024 Audience Award Best Feature Film winner INGEBORG BACHMANN – JOURNEY INTO THE DESERT, directed by Margarethe von Trotta, starring Vicky Krieps, Ronald Zehrfeld, and Tobias Resch!
Statement by director Margarethe von Trotta: “What a joy! In the beginning of my film career, I used to visit San Francisco very often and I even considered moving there because I fell in love with its people and the city. That’s why I’m especially happy about the award, also because it’s an audience award. After all, we make films for the viewers, not just for ourselves. Thank you very much!”
Shooting end for DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR DROWAK?starring Luna Wedler & Karl Markovics
Last week in Paris, filming wrapped up for the movie DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR. DROWAK? directed by Swiss filmmaker Nicolas Steiner from a screenplay by Bettina Gundermann.
Lena (played by Luna Wedler) is a cheerful student who always believes in the good in people. When she applies for a volunteer position at the "Office" as a writing instructor as part of a social initiative, she has no idea that the only participant in her class will be a hateful, constantly drinking misanthrope: the former homeless man Hugo Drowak (played by Karl Markovics). Against all expectations, Drowak actually starts to write, and Lena is enchanted by his unexpected talent. Her ambition is ignited. Tirelessly fueled by her boundless optimism, she encourages him to write about the magical power of love. However, he draws from his own memories, awakening the demons of his past: the more he writes, the greater their destructive hold over him becomes. When Lena understands the connection, she confronts the demons with determination.
Directed by Nicolas Steiner, whose documentary film ABOVE AND BELOW won three Swiss and two German Film Awards, DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR. DROWAK? features Luna Wedler and Karl Markovics in the leading roles, alongside actors such as Lars Eidinger, Dominique Pinon, Saga Sarkola, Thelma Buabeng, Nikolai Gemel, and Jan Bülow, forming an impressive ensemble in front of the camera.
"It's a tragicomedy centered around two individuals who, in all their differences, collide like elemental forces. Drowak, a man who struggles most of all against himself. With disbelief in love yet driven by its pull and longing for it, a rehabilitation program exposes his seemingly deeply buried life trauma. And Lena, the resting (but not quieter) counterpart. At her core, with great purity and strength, she challenges the world of the misanthrope." – Director Nicolas Steiner
The film is set to be released in 2025 by X Verleih in all German speaking cinemas. Filming took place in Rottweil, Freiburg, Basel, Cologne, and Paris.
director: Nicolas Steiner
writer: Bettina Gundermann
co-developed by: Pascal Nothdurft
producers: Marc Müller-Kaldenberg, Pascal Nothdurft, Katrin Renz
dop: Markus Nestroy
editor: Kaya Inan
set design: Nina Mader & Mirjam Zimmermann
costume design: Laura Locher
music: Paradox Paradise, John Grütler, Jan Miserre
original sound: Bertin Molz, Jan Gubser
make-up artist: Anna Kunz
Produced by Zieglerfilm Baden-Baden and tellfilm
Co-produced by Zieglerfilm, Zieglerfilm München
In co-production with SWR, SRF/SRG SSR, ARTE, WDR and HR
In collaboration with MMC Fiction and Edition Tanja
With the support of MFG, DFFF, Bundesamt für Kultur, Filmstiftung NRW, Region Basel Stadt, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Region Basel Land, FFF Bayern, Suissimage, and FOCAL Stage Pool.
Presentation of DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR DROWAK? at GOES TO CANNES
DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS, MR DROWAK? has been selected for this year's edition of the prestigious program GOES TO CANNES and will be presented to industry professionals on May 18, 2024, as part of the Cannes International Film Festival.
Director Nicolas Steiner and producer Katrin Renz will present a first compilation of the film and pitch the current state.
Sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers are invited to join the showcase on May 18th from 12:00-13:50 at Palais K in the Marché du Film.
Shooting end for MOTHER’S BABY starring Marie Leuenberger, Hans Löw and Claes Bang
In April 2024, filming for MOTHER’S BABY concluded. This psychological thriller tells the story of Julia, who is thrust into a world she struggles to navigate after becoming a mother.
Julia, 40, a successful conductor, and her partner Georg, 44, desperately yearn for a child until Dr. Vilfort gives them hope. After successful treatment at his clinic, Julia becomes pregnant. However, the birth does not go as expected, and the baby is immediately taken away. Julia is left in the dark about what happened. When she finally receives the child, she feels strangely distant and even doubts whether it is truly her child.
MOTHER’S BABY delves into a hidden world, societal expectations of motherhood, and the challenge of not losing oneself in the process. The film is not a typical drama but a psychological thriller that plays with visual darkness and contrasts beauty with pain. Julia's world blurs, but the question of reality remains.
Johanna Moder, whose feature film ONCE WERE REBELS won numerous awards, including Best Director at the 2020 Max Ophüls Festival, directs the film. Marie Leuenberger (known for THE DIVINE ORDER, WILL YOU MARRY US?, CAGED BIRDS) portrays Julia, with Hans Löw (ALL GOOD) playing Georg. Claes Bang (THE SQUARE) takes on the role of Dr. Vilfort. Other roles are filled by Austrian actresses Julia Franz Richter (RUBIKON) and Nina Fog (PEACOCK).
director: Johanna Moder
writers: Arne Kohlweyer, Johanna Moder
producers: Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, Katrin Renz, Viola Fügen, Michael Weber
dop: Robert Oberrainer
editor: Karin Hammer
set design: Hannes Salat
costume design: Stephanie Bieker, Carola Pizzini
original sound: Patrick Storck
make-up artist: Martine Felber
Funded by: ÖFI, ÖFI+, Film Fonds Wien, Bundesamt für Kultur, Zürcher Filmstiftung, Hamburg Moin!, Hessen Film.
GLORIA! now in cinemas all over Italy
At this Year’s Berlin International Film Festival we celebrated the world premiere of Margherita Vicario’s first feature film GLORIA! in competition – an overwhelming premiere with ongoing applause and standing ovations.
In the waning years of the 18th century, within a Venetian convent boarding school for girls, unfolds the captivating tale of Teresa. Endowed with visionary abilities, Teresa, alongside a select group of extraordinary female musicians, transcends the confines of time. Together, they defy the stifling grip of the dusty old regime by crafting a rebellious, light, and modern music that resonates with the spirit of the age—Pop! This film chronicles their journey as they challenge convention, infuse vitality into tradition, and leave an indelible mark on history with their revolutionary sounds.
On April 11 GLORIA! was released all over Italy as well as in Ticino (Switzerland). Cinema release in the Romandie will be in June 2024, in the German speaking part of Switzerland in August 2024. – We will keep you posted about the exact dates!
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