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Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein

We Might As Well Be Dead
Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2022
© Jan Mayntz / HEARTWAKE films
It may only be a tower block on the edge of a forest, but you can tell by the look on the faces of the people hoping to join the building’s community that this must be one of the last bastions of civilisation in a world that has fallen apart. To live here, shielded from a dangerous environment, is the goal. But when the caretaker’s dog disappears, an irrational fear spreads among the residents. Security officer Anna makes an appeal for reason and begins to search for the animal. Meanwhile, her daughter Iris locks herself in the bathroom. She is convinced that, with her “evil eye”, she herself is responsible for the dog’s disappearance. When a newly formed vigilante group demands stricter security measures and a renewed suitability test for the entire community, Anna begins to fear for her right to stay.
In Natalia Sinelnikova’s feature film debut, the microcosm of the high-rise provides the setting for a timeless dystopian experiment. At the film’s centre is the power of fear – a self-replicating system that can shatter social cohesion, and has long dictated current social and political discourses.
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by Natalia Sinelnikova
with Ioana Iacob, Pola Geiger, Jörg Schüttauf, Şiir Eloğlu, Moritz Jahn, Susanne Wuest, Knut Berger, Mina Özlem Sagdiç, Cristin König, Jörg Pose Germany / Romania 2022 German, Polish 94’ Colour

With

  • Ioana Iacob (Anna Wilczyńska)
  • Pola Geiger (Iris Wilczyńska)
  • Jörg Schüttauf (Gerti Posner)
  • Şiir Eloğlu (Ursel)
  • Moritz Jahn (Wolfram)
  • Susanne Wuest (Erika Drescher)
  • Knut Berger (Frank Drescher)
  • Mina Özlem Sagdiç (Zeynep)
  • Cristin König (Frau Richards)
  • Jörg Pose (Herr Richards)

Crew

Director Natalia Sinelnikova
Screenplay Natalia Sinelnikova, Viktor Gallandi
Cinematography Jan Mayntz
Editing Evelyn Rack
Music Michael Kondaurow, Maxi Menot
Sound Design Michael Kondaurow
Sound Colin Shaw
Production Design Elisabeth Kozerski
Costumes Marilyn Rammert
Make-Up Franziska Mayntz
Casting Karl Schirnhofer
Assistant Director Benjamin Hujawa
Production Manager Maximilian Seidel
Executive Producer Julia Wagner
Co-Producers Lina Mareike Zopfs, Charlene Gürntke, Ioana Iacob, Verena Veihl, Cooky Ziesche
Co-Production RBB Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg Berlin
Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf Potsdam
In Cooperation with Magdalena WolffKojoten Filmproduktion Stuttgart

World sales

Fortissimo Films

http://www.fortissimofilms.com http://www.fortissimofilms.com

Produced by

Heartwake Films

Photos

Berlinale Meets | Interview

Natalia Sinelnikova

© Jakob Reinhardt

Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), the former Soviet Union in 1989, she emigrated to Germany with her family at the age of seven. In 2013, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in cultural studies with a focus on photography and theatre from the University of Hildesheim, going on to study film directing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. Her graduation film Trauerweiden (Weeping Willows) had its world premiere at the Moscow Jewish Film Festival. The filmmaker is a member of the Jewish artists’ network Dagesh. Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein is her debut feature film.

Filmography

2014 Schwarze Katzen (Black Cats); short film 2015 Flow; short film 2016 Bajuschki (Bayushki); short film 2017 Trauerweiden (Weeping Willows); medium-length film 2018 Die Unsichtbare Frau (A Woman Wants the Bill); short film 2022 Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein (We Might As Well Be Dead)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022