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Liebhaberinnen

Women as Lovers
Forum 2026
© COIN FILM / Silviu Guiman
A sleeping bag on the floor in front of the fitness studio lockers, a coaching seminar and the morning shift briefing (to practise the salesperson smile): these are the tough situations Brigitte (Johanna Wokalek) finds herself in. She is the protagonist of this Elfriede Jelinek adaptation, in which debut filmmaker Koxi takes stock of the successful early novel by the later Nobel Prize winner by catapulting it from the 1970s into contemporary late capitalism. Female market value today? While scrolling, middle-aged trade fair hostess Brigitte comes across schoolgirl Paula (Hannah Schiller), who is doing all she can to get Internet fame. While one seems full of youthful ambitions and aspirations, the other starts comparing herself to her, increasingly obsessively. Brigitte must change her life to reach her goals with proper calculation – but are they really hers? Paula goes to drastic measures to break out of her dreary home, but there is no escape. Liebhaberinnen is a dark tragicomedy about the impossibility of female fulfilment and the less empowering brand of mother-daughter relationships. “Use the patriarchy” cum self-marketing optimisation. All in all, little has changed.
by Koxi (Director, Screenplay), Antonio de Luca (Screenplay)
with Johanna Wokalek, Hannah Schiller, Ben Münchow, Victoria Trauttmansdorff, Jasmin Artosha Mokhtare, Susanne Bredehöft Germany / Luxembourg 2026 German 98' Colour World premiere | Debut film

With

  • Johanna Wokalek
  • Hannah Schiller
  • Ben Münchow
  • Victoria Trauttmansdorff
  • Jasmin Artosha Mokhtare
  • Susanne Bredehöft

Crew

Director Koxi
Screenplay Antonio de Luca, Koxi
Cinematography Jakob Berger
Editing Andreas Menn, Antonio de Luca
Music Antonio de Luca
Sound Design Kai Holzkämper
Production Design Ina Timmerberg
Costumes Hannah Leiner
Make-Up Miriam Hübner
Casting Susanne Ritter
Producers Christine Kiauk, Herbert Schwering, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Judith Fülle, Matthias Murmann, Philipp Käßbohrer, Caroline Kox

Produced by

COIN FILM

Köln, Germany

Amour Fou Luxembourg

Ettelbruck, Luxembourg

Co-produced by

bildundtonfabrik

Köln, Germany

World Sales

Visit Films

Brooklyn, NY, USA

Photos

Koxi

© Hans Diernberger

Koxi is a Luxembourg filmmaker and composer. She studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne and founded the film production company paradies in 2014 with Antonio De Luca. In 2018 she was nominated for the Luxembourg Film Prize for her film Casting a Woman. She has collaborated with De Luca on over 30 film scores. As a composer, she was invited to Cannes in 2024 with the film Immaculata and was nominated for the German Film Award (Lola) for Vergiss Meyn Nicht. In 2025 she directed her first feature film, Liebhaberinnen, based on the novel by Elfriede Jelinek.

Filmography (selection)

2013 Paradies; short film · Octave; music video 2015 Perché la notte; music video 2016 Ascending a Staircase; music video · Casting a Woman; short film 2023 Soft Skills; short film 2026 Liebhaberinnen (Women as Lovers)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026