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Peter von Kant

Competition 2022
© C. Bethuel / FOZ
Peter von Kant is a successful film director. He lives with his assistant Karl, whom he likes to mistreat and humiliate. Sidonie is the great actor who was his muse for many years. She introduces him to Amir, a handsome young man of modest means. Peter falls in love with Amir on the spot and offers to share his apartment with him and help him break into the film industry. The plan works, but as soon as he acquires fame, Amir breaks up with Peter, leaving him alone to face his demons.
Loosely adapted from Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Ozon’s cheeky take is an aesthete’s delight and a feast of satirical humour. An impressive, committed cast embraces wholeheartedly the French auteur’s ruthless commentary on celebrity and its shortcomings. All the performances are a delight: from Denis Ménochet’s physical tour-de-force as the tortured artist and a fearless Isabelle Adjani willingly riffing on her own film-star image to the reticent but astonishingly expressive Stéfan Crépon as the heartbroken assistant, young breakthrough talent Khalil Gharbia as the cruel Amir and, of course, the eternal Hanna Schygulla, in a moving appearance that nods reverently and sincerely to the source material.
by François Ozon
with Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani, Khalil Gharbia, Hanna Schygulla, Stéfan Crépon, Aminthe Audiard France 2021 French, German 84’ Colour

With

  • Denis Ménochet (Peter von Kant)
  • Isabelle Adjani (Sidonie)
  • Khalil Gharbia (Amir)
  • Hanna Schygulla (Rosemarie)
  • Stéfan Crépon (Karl)
  • Aminthe Audiard (Gabrielle)

Crew

Written and Directed by François Ozon adapted from Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Cinematography Manu Dacosse
Editing Laure Gardette
Music Clément Ducol
Sound Brigitte Taillander, Julien Roig, Jean-Paul Hurier
Production Design Katia Wyszkop
Costumes Pascaline Chavanne
Casting David Bertrand
Assistant Director Marion Dehaene
Production Manager Aude Cathelin
Producer François Ozon
Co-Producers Valérie Boyer, Sébastien Beffa, Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, François Yon, Geneviève Lemal
Co-Production France 2 Cinema Paris
Playtime Paris
Scope Pictures Brüssel

World sales

Playtime

http://www.playtime.group http://www.playtime.group

Produced by

FOZ

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

François Ozon

© Jean-Claude Moireau

Born in Paris, France in 1967, the director and screenwriter studied at La Fémis film school and is now one of the most renowned filmmakers in his country. Peter von Kant is his fifth film to screen in the Berlinale Competition following Water Drops on Burning Rocks, which won the 2000 Teddy Award, the 2002 comedy 8 Women, whose ensemble female cast won the Silver Bear, Angel in 2007, Ricky in 2009 and the 2019 film By the Grace of God, for which he won the Grand Jury Prize. In 2012, he was a member of the Competition jury himself.

Filmography (selection)

1998 Sitcom 1999 Les amants criminels (Criminal Lovers) 2000 Gouttes d’eau sur pierres brûlantes (Water Drops on Burning Rocks) · Sous le sable (Under the Sand) 2002 8 femmes (8 Women) 2003 Swimming Pool 2004 5 x 2 2005 Le temps qui reste (Time to Leave) 2007 Angel 2009 Ricky · La refuge (The Refuge) 2010 Potiche 2012 Dans la maison (In the House) 2013 Jeune et jolie (Young & Beautiful) 2014 Une nouvelle amie (The New Girlfriend) 2016 Frantz 2017 L’amant double 2019 Grâce à Dieu (By the Grace of God) 2020 Été 85 (Summer of 85) 2021 Tout s’est bien passé (Everything Went Fine) · Peter von Kant

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022