Picking up the threads from my blog entry on the elder stateswoman of German film, Margarethe von Trotta, the good news from female German Regisseurinnen this year does not abade. I am already looking back at an impressive array of artists I've covered and presented last year --Maria Speth, Corinna Schnitt, Isabell Spengler, writer Heide Schwochow, Hannah Leonie Prinzler, Lynne Marsh--, and the future is bright with several intriguing films in production and of course the never-before-seen Cannes success of Maren Ade's TONI ERDMANN (see the current quirky Cinema Scope cover). My money is on a TIFF North American premiere.Also considered Berlin School, Angela Schanelec (MARSEILLE) has THE DREAMED PATH (DER TRAUMHAFTE WEG) ready for the festival circuit, a film about powerlessness and happiness. Greece 1984. Kenneth, a young Brit, and Theres, a German woman, busk to pay for their holiday. They are in love. When Kenneth hears the news that his mother has died, he abruptly leaves without Theres. Realizing how much he needs Theres, he tries to win her back, unsuccessfully. 30 years later, in Berlin, Ariane separates from her husband David. Eventually, the two couples' lives intersect. Starring Maren Eggert, Luise Heyer, Thorbjörn Björnsson, Phil Hayes.
On with the next generation of female directors: Controversial 23-year-old author, actor, director Helene Hegemann is turning her teen coming-of-age debut novel “Axolotl Roadkill" into "Axolotl Blockbuster”, plagiarism scandals not withstanding. Watch it if you feel up to heroin, techno and suicide.
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