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Leibniz – Chronik eines verschollenen Bildes

Leibniz – Chronicle of a Lost Painting
Berlinale Special 2025
© Ella Knorz
Queen Charlotte has loved the great Enlightenment philosopher Leibniz ever since she was his student and he taught her the joys of thinking. As Queen of Prussia, she yearns for his wise answers to life’s big questions. Leibniz is happy to grant her wish of having his portrait painted so that it can stand in for him in Lietzenburg Castle. Edgar Reitz and co-director Anatol Schuster depict the portrait sittings as a series of passionate debates between the philosopher and artist about the truth of artistic representation. Can a person’s secret self ever be captured on canvas? Is not an imperceptible manipulation inherent in every image? Only the female Dutch painter Aaltje van der Meer is able to challenge the truth-seeker Leibniz with her unwavering love of art, and to open his heart. When Charlotte comes to Hanover to visit her intellectual friend and collect the portrait, fate strikes a terrible blow. Aaltje’s Leibniz portrait, which came to be recognised as a masterpiece of Baroque painting, is still lost to this day.
by Edgar Reitz (Director, Screenplay), Gert Heidenreich (Screenplay)
with Edgar Selge, Aenne Schwarz, Lars Eidinger, Michael Kranz, Antonia Bill, Barbara Sukowa Germany 2025 German 104' Colour World premiere

With

  • Edgar Selge (Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz)
  • Aenne Schwarz (Aaltje Van De Meer)
  • Lars Eidinger (Pierre-Albert Delalandre)
  • Michael Kranz (Liebfried Cantor)
  • Antonia Bill (Königin Sophie Charlotte von Preußen)
  • Barbara Sukowa (Kurfürstin Sophie von Hannover)

Crew

Director Edgar Reitz
Screenplay Gert Heidenreich, Edgar Reitz
Cinematography Matthias Grunsky
Editing Anja Pohl
Music Henrik Ajax
Sound Design Xavier Fleming
Production Design Renate Schmaderer
Producers Ingo Fliess, Christian Reitz

Produced by

if... Productions

ERF Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion

Photos

Edgar Reitz

© Julia Stipsits

The filmmaker and writer was born in Morbach, Germany in 1932. He studied theatre and German literature and is a member of the Oberhausen Group that initiated the German auteur film in 1962. His feature, documentary and experimental films, including Die Reise nach Wien, Stunde Null and the Heimat trilogy, have garnered great international attention and received many awards. He is a university professor and the author of numerous articles and illustrated books on film. His autobiography was published in 2022. In 2024, Filmstunde_23 celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale. The film has been released in cinemas in 2025.

Filmography

1967 Mahlzeiten · Fußnoten 1968 Filmstunde 1969 Cardillac 1971 Kino zwei · Geschichten vom Kübelkind; co-directed by: Ula Stöckl 1972 Das goldene Ding; co-directed by: Alf Brustellin, Nikos Perakis, Ula Stöckl 1973 Die Reise nach Wien 1977 Stunde Null 1979 Der Schneider von Ulm 1981 Geschichten aus den Hunsrückdörfern 1984 Heimat – eine Deutsche Chronik; 11 parts 1992 Die zweite Heimat – Chronik einer Jugend; 13 parts 1995 Die Nacht der Regisseure 2004 Heimat 3 – Chronik einer Zeitenwende; 6 parts 2006 Heimat – Fragmente – Die Frauen 2007 Ortswechsel 2013 Kafka geht ins Kino · Die andere Heimat 2024 Filmstunde_23; co-directed by: Jörg Adolph 2025 Leibniz - Chronik eines verschollenen Bildes (Leibniz - Chronicle of a lost Painting); co-directed by: Anatol Schuster

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025