Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes

Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog
A bourgeois greyhound confesses how he turned from an ambitious but little-recognised filmmaker into a canine. When his latest project is rejected by every single funding institution, Julian is forced to take on a job as a fruit picker. When he makes a young Canadian woman named Camille believe that this is research for a communist fairytale film in which she is to play the leading role, she wants to come along, which kindles romantic notions in Julian. The pair winds up on an ostensibly idyllic but in reality deeply exploitative apple farm. Whilst Julian has a hard time coping with the physical strain, Camille throws herself enthusiastically into their supposed research and befriends Hong and Sancho, two naïve proletarians in search of happiness. Julian finds it increasingly difficult to play the communist filmmaker, then a model worker who dreams the American dream gets in his way, not to mention an unhinged monk with magical powers. With all these seething conflicts going on it’s no surprise that the farm owner is accidentally killed. In the end the entire orchard is buzzing with an outrageous plan.
by Julian Radlmaier
with Julian Radlmaier, Deragh Campbell, Kyung-Taek Lie, Beniamin Forti, Ilia Korkashvili, Bruno Derksen, Anton Gonopolski, Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Mex Schlüpfer, Natia Bakhtadze
Germany 2017 German, English 99’ Colour

With

  • Julian Radlmaier (Julian)
  • Deragh Campbell (Camille)
  • Kyung-Taek Lie (Hong)
  • Beniamin Forti (Sancho)
  • Ilia Korkashvili (Monk)
  • Bruno Derksen (Bruno)
  • Anton Gonopolski (Anton)
  • Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg (Elfriede Gottfried)
  • Mex Schlüpfer (Farmer)
  • Natia Bakhtadze (Natia)

Crew

Written and Directed by Julian Radlmaier
Cinematography Markus Koob
Editing Julian Radlmaier
Sound Design Christian Obermaier, Tobias Bilz
Sound Kai Ziarkowski
Sound Mixing Silvio Naumann
Colourist Matilda Mester
Production Design Merle Vorwald
Costumes Sara Wendt, Natia Bakhtadze
Assistant Director Jan Bachmann, Naemi Buechtemann
Production Management Hanna Cramer
Producer Kirill Krasovskiy
Co-Production Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin Berlin
rbb Berlin

Julian Radlmaier

Born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1984, he studied film and history of art in Berlin and Paris before taking a degree in directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). He has worked as an assistant for Werner Schroeter and translated and published a series of film criticism texts by French philosopher Jacques Rancière. His DFFB graduation film, Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes, was selected for the 2017 Perspektive Deutsches Kino and went on to screen and win several awards at festivals around the world. His screenplay for Blutsauger has already won the German Screenplay Award and a Berlinale Kompagnon Fellowship.

Filmography

2013 Ein Gespenst geht um in Europa (A Spectre is Haunting Europe) 2014 Ein proletarisches Wintermärchen (A Proletarian Winter’s Tale) 2017 Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticsim of a Bourgeois Dog) 2021 Blutsauger (Bloodsuckers)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021