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Panorama 2022
© brave new work
Nadja’s body is broken. Her toes are bleeding and she has eczema on her neck that looks like bruises. All the hard work she has put in as a ballerina is making itself felt and nowadays she spends her time teaching young girls how to dance. She was still a girl herself when she had a son, Mario, whom she left with her mother. Mario spends his time training his body every day at the gym. He has not seen his mother for a very long time. It is said that Nadja does not have a motherly bone in her body. But then, one day, she turns up on his doorstep, wanting to take an interest in her son. When she sees his body, she wants to touch him. And does so, more and more often.
There are no limits in Isabelle Stever’s new film. Nor are there any taboos. She does not judge, either. Just a mother and a son who gradually become closer, physically. Sarah Nevada Grether and Emil von Schönfels dare to do something that few actors are asked to do, and is seldom shown. Capturing their bodies in the half-light, out of focus, from above, and behind, the camera finds a visual language of disturbing semantics. Everything about this film is uncompromising and radical. Everything is an exception. And, in the end, what remains is the body of a mother.
by Isabelle Stever
with Sarah Nevada Grether, Emil von Schönfels, Susanne Bredehöft, Stefan Rudolf, Maya Kornev, Carl Hegemann, Jule Böwe, Eva Medusa Gühne, Sina Koburg, Lukas Lonski, Anke Stelling Germany 2022 German 105’ Colour

With

  • Sarah Nevada Grether (Nadja)
  • Emil von Schönfels (Mario)
  • Susanne Bredehöft (Hanne)
  • Stefan Rudolf (Nadja’s Boyfriend)
  • Maya Kornev (Ballet Student)
  • Carl Hegemann (Guest)
  • Jule Böwe (Guest)
  • Eva Medusa Gühne (Guest)
  • Sina Koburg (Receptionist)
  • Lukas Lonski (Compère)
  • Anke Stelling (Obstetrician)

Crew

Director Isabelle Stever
Screenplay Anna Melikova based on the novel “Fürsorge” by Anke Stelling
Cinematography Constantin Campean
Editing Paul Gröbel, Jil Lange
Music Thomas Mehlhorn, Sigourney Pilz
Sound Design Matthias Lempert, Christian Obermaier
Sound Manja Ebert
Production Design Mirko Rachor
Costumes Waris Klampfer
Make-Up Friederike Schäfer, Annett Schulze
Casting Julia Ketelhut, Annika Pinske, Luise Hauschild
Assistant Director Ires Jung
Production Manager Anastasia Pisklyukova
Producers Mohammad Farokhmanesh, Frank Geiger, Armin Hofmann
Co-Producer Olga Dihovichnaya

World sales

Reel Suspects

https://www.reelsuspects.com https://www.reelsuspects.com

Produced by

brave new work

https://bravenewwork.de https://bravenewwork.de

Photos

Press Conference

Berlinale Meets | Interview

Isabelle Stever

© Sebastian Schrade

Born in Munich, Germany in 1963. She studied maths at TU Berlin and then film directing at the DFFB. Her graduation film Portrait of a Married Couple won the First Steps Award. Since then, her feature films have regularly been invited to international festivals. Alongside her work as a director and screenwriter, she is also a lecturer at the DFFB, the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, the Moscow School of New Cinema and the Petersburg School of New Cinema. In 2021, she had a residency at the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.

Filmography

1997 Requiem für etwas, das sehr klein ist (Requiem for Something Which Is Very Small); short film 2002 Erste Ehe (Portrait of a Married Couple) 2006 Gisela 2009 Deutschland 09 (Germany 09); segment “A Democratic Discussion at Designated Times” 2011 Glückliche Fügung (Blessed Events) 2016 Das Wetter in geschlossenen Räumen (The Weather Inside) 2022 Grand Jeté

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022