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Verführung: Die grausame Frau

Seduction: The Cruel Woman
TEDDY 40 2026
© Salzgeber & Co. Medien
“I’d like to thank you for this beautiful film.” It was none other than Jean Baudrillard who said this, following the press screening of Verführung: Die grausame Frau in Paris. Based on Sacher-Masoch’s cult novel “Venus in Furs” and de Sade’s “Justine”, which Monika Treut transposed to the port of Hamburg, this elegantly decadent camp film had equally prominent fans (Blumenberg) and detractors (the Minister of the Interior of the time) in Berlin  when the story of the mysterious dominatrix Wanda (Mechthild Grossmann), romantic dreamer Gregor (Udo Kier), journalist and toilet slave Mährsch (Peter Weibel) as well as Justine, Caren, Friederike, Judith and Leila premiered at the 1985 Forum. So we can wait with duly bated breath to see how Germany’s cultural politicians digest what the Forum’s heart still desires: queer sensuality, subversive avant-garde stylings, cool hotties, erotic leather, independent cinema. Grossmann now in Tatort retirement, Weibel & Kier already in heaven – honest cruelty and many shining rays of remembrance emanate from this work. Thanks to Elfi Mikesch and Monika Treut. Whips! Dreams! Let’s just do it!
by Elfi Mikesch (Director, Screenplay), Monika Treut (Director, Screenplay)
with Mechthild Grossmann, Udo Kier, Sheila McLaughlin, Carola Regnier, Georgette Dee, Peter Weibel, Judith Flex, Barbara Ossenkopp, Daniela Ziegler, George Lanann Federal Republic of Germany 1985 German 84' Colour

TEDDY 40

Verführung: Die grausame Frau celebrated its Berlinale premiere in the 1985 Forum.

With

  • Mechthild Grossmann
  • Udo Kier
  • Sheila McLaughlin
  • Carola Regnier
  • Georgette Dee
  • Peter Weibel
  • Judith Flex
  • Barbara Ossenkopp
  • Daniela Ziegler
  • George Lanann

Crew

Directors Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut
Screenplay Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut
Cinematography Elfi Mikesch
Editing Renate Merck
Production Design Manfred Blösser, Klaus Weinreich
Costumes Anne Jud, Kristin von Kalckreuth
Make-Up Rolf Baumann, Werner Püthe
Producers Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut

Produced by

Hyäne I/II Filmproduktion

Hamburg, Germany

Photos

Elfi Mikesch

© Marie Claire Vericel/Salzgeber & Co. Medien

Elfi Mikesch, born in 1940 in Judenburg, Austria, has lived in Berlin since 1964. She works as a photographer, cinematographer, director and lecturer. She has been making feature and documentary films since 1976. As a cinematographer, she has worked for Rosa von Praunheim and Werner Schroeter, among others. In 1984, she founded the independent production company Hyena Films with Monika Treut. Her work has been honoured with several retrospectives. In 2014, she received the Teddy Award for her lifetime achievement; for her 80th birthday, Rosa von Praunheim dedicated the book vis-à-vis to her.

Filmography (selection)

1970 Charisma. Eine Erinnerung an den Tod 1979 Ich denke oft an Hawaii (I Often Think Of Hawaii); documentary, Berlinale Forum 1978 · Execution A Study of Mary 1980 Was soll'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod; documentary, Berlinale Forum 1980 1982 Macumba; Berlinale Forum 1982 1983 Das Frühstück der Hyäne; Berlinale Forum 1983 1985 Verführung: Die grausame Frau (Seduction: The Cruel Woman); co-directed by Monika Treut, Berlinale Forum 1985 1989 Marocain; Berlinale Forum 1989 1984 Soldaten Soldaten 1997 Verrückt bleiben – verliebt bleiben (Mind the Gap); documentary, Berlinale Panorama 1997 2001 Mon Paradis – Der Winterpalast (Mon Paradis – The Winter Palace); documentary 2008 Zisternen – Istanbuls versunkene Paläste; documentary 2011 Mondo Lux – Die Bilderwelten des Werner Schroeter (Mondo Lux – The visual Worlds of Werner Schroeter); documentary, Berlinale Panorama 2011 2014 Fieber (Fever); Berlinale Panorama 2014 2022 Die Straße als Erzählung 2024 Krieg oder Frieden (War or Peace); documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026

Monika Treut

© Salzgeber & Co. Medien

Monika Treut, born in Mönchengladbach in 1954, has been shaping Queer Cinema in Germany and around the world for over 40 years with her playful and subversive feature and documentary films. She studied in Marburg and completed a PhD in literature. Her multi-award-winning films have been screened internationally in retrospectives. In 2017, she received the Teddy Award for her lifetime achievement. She teaches at universities in California and New York and has been Deputy Professor of Media at the University of Hildesheim from 2018 to 2023. In 2025, she was awarded the Helmut Käutner Prize.

Filmography (selection)

1985 Verführung: Die grausame Frau (Seduction: The Cruel Woman); co-directed by Elfi Mikesch, Berlinale Forum 1985 1988 Die Jungfrauenmaschine (Virgin Machine) 1991 My Father Is Coming; Berlinale Panorama 1991 1992 Female Misbehaviour; documentary 1994 Let’s Talk About Sex / Erotique; compilation film 1997 Didn’t Do It For Love; documentary, Berlinale Panorama 1998 1999 Gendernauts; documentary, Berlinale Panorama 1999 2002 Kriegerin des Lichts (Warrior of Light); documentary, Berlinale Panorama 2002 2005 Den Tigerfrauen wachsen Flügel (Tigerwomen Grow Wings); documentary, Berlinale Panorama 2005 2009 Ghosted; Berlinale Panorama 2009 2012 Das Rohe und das Gekochte (The Raw and the Cooked); documentary, Berlinale Culinary Cinema 2012 2014 Von Mädchen und Pferden (Of Girls and Horses) 2016 Zona Norte; documentary, Berlinale Panorama 2016 2021 Genderation; documentary, Berlinale Panorama Dokumente 2021

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026