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SIRENS CALL

Forum 2025
© GossingSieckmann / filmfaust / Kochmann
Miri Ian Gossing and Lina Sieckmann’s feature-length debut takes a deep dive into the merfolk subculture on the trail of siren Una. Una leads a nomadic existence in the post-modern reality of a drying-out planet and the film glides along with her – through performance and genre elements, through fiction and documentary. “I’m part human, I recognize that, but I’m not full.” Una’s search for herself and kindred spirits leads her to American diners, shimmering hotel rooms and on a road trip with the young Moth. Trump’s USA looms forth from the car radio. The two of them end up with other merpeople in Portland, a group equally concerned with activism and self-care who have wrested the ancient vision of existence as hybrid beings away from the clutches of consumerist culture. In loving, cool, queer, feminist, technoid and sensual fashion, Gossing / Sieckmann show people who have chosen a life outside the demands of a standardised present. Stylistically brilliant and ingenious in how it transcends the boundaries between genres, SIRENS CALL is an experimental arena for new forms of life and being.
by Miri Ian Gossing & Lina Sieckmann (Director), Miri Ian Gossing (Screenplay), Lina Sieckmann (Screenplay)
with Gina Rønning, Moth Rønning-Bötel, Rei Spider Barnes, Jason Bötel, Mark Ginsberg, Amethyst Twilight, Yl’luria Watersong, Thandiwe Curtis-Gibson, Fredrick H. Zal Germany / Netherlands 2025 English 121' Colour World premiere | Debut film | Documentary form

With

  • Gina Rønning
  • Moth Rønning-Bötel
  • Rei Spider Barnes
  • Jason Bötel
  • Mark Ginsberg
  • Amethyst Twilight
  • Yl’luria Watersong
  • Thandiwe Curtis-Gibson
  • Fredrick H. Zal

Crew

Director Miri Ian Gossing & Lina Sieckmann
Screenplay Miri Ian Gossing, Lina Sieckmann
Cinematography Christian Kochmann
Editing Christoph Bargfrede
Music Simon Waskow
Sound Design Robert Kroos
Producers Miri Ian Gossing, Lina Sieckmann, Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, Claus Herzog-Reichel
Executive Producer Claus Herzog-Reichel
Co-Producers Nadine Bemelmans, Floor Krooi, Elbe Stevens

Produced by

filmfaust

Schalten und Walten

Elbe Stevens Films

World Sales

Syndicado Film Sales

Photos

Miri Ian Gossing & Lina Sieckmann

© Gossing, Sieckmann

Miri Ian Gossing and Lina Sieckmann have collaborated as an artist and director duo since 2012. They have created a distinctive body of 16mm films blending documentary imagery, fiction and found footage that have garnered numerous accolades, including a German Short Film Award and the Wim Wenders Grant. Their artistic research explores themes of hauntology, traumatised landscapes and queer sensibilities. Since 2019, they have curated the Blonde Cobra – Festival for Queer and Experimental Cinema in Cologne. Gossing and Sieckmann live and work in Cologne, Germany, and Portland, Oregon, USA.

Filmography

2014 Sonntag, Buescherhöfchen 2 (Sunday, Buescherhoefchen 2); installation, short film 2015 Desert Miracles; short film 2016 Ocean Hill Drive; short film 2017 One Hour Real; short film 2019 Souvenir; short film 2025 SIRENS CALL

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025