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Das Glück meiner Schwester

My Sister’s Good Fortune
Retrospective 2019
© Deutsche Kinemathek / DFFB
The story of a man caught between two women. Christian is a freelance photographer, whose girlfriend Ariane works at a plant nursery. But Christian has fallen in love with Isabel, Ariane’s half-sister. A friend suggests that he toss a coin. Ariane doesn’t want to lose Christian and argues incessantly against his plans for a separation. Isabel wants to move in with Christian, so Ariane confronts her. Unable and unwilling to let go, she doggedly beleaguers the new lovers. Isabel takes appropriate measures … The crucial question “are you happy?” is something all the protagonists often wonder. The film eschews the drama of the usual love triangle narrative. Instead, Angela Schanelec, a member of the Berlin School, depicts romantic relationships in all their anxiety-ridden everyday form. The film also explores the urban environment, with a significant portion of the dialogue-heavy film shot on Berlin’s streets, amid the noise of traffic and construction sites. Angela Schanelec said of that choice that “for me, it was clear that the language of my film was artificial and pre-written, but on the other hand, I did not want to manipulate the space”.
by Angela Schanelec
with Anna Bolk, Wolfgang Michael, Angela Schanelec, Michael Maertens, Margit Bendokat, Andreas Herder, Jirka Bethke, Lukas Confurius, Katharina Linder, Johannes Schütz Germany 1995 German 84’ Colour Rating R0

With

  • Anna Bolk
  • Wolfgang Michael
  • Angela Schanelec
  • Michael Maertens
  • Margit Bendokat
  • Andreas Herder
  • Jirka Bethke
  • Lukas Confurius
  • Katharina Linder
  • Johannes Schütz

Crew

Written and Directed by Angela Schanelec
Cinematography Reinhold Vorschneider
Editing Angela Schanelec
Sound Herbert Wüst
Costumes Petra Wilke
Producer Gudrun Ruzicková-Steiner
Commissioning Editor Nicole Kellerhals, Barbara Frankenstein

Additional information

Film print: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Photos

Angela Schanelec

Born in the south of Germany in 1962, she studied acting in Frankfurt am Main followed by engagements at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg and the Schaubühne in Berlin. From 1990 to 1995 she studied directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. She is professor of narrative film at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Nachmittag (Afternoon) screened in the 2007 Berlinale Forum; her films have also screened at Cannes and Locarno.

Filmography

1993 Ich bin den Sommer über in Berlin geblieben (I Stayed in Berlin All Summer) 1995 Das Glück meiner kleinen Schwester (My Sister's Good Fortune) · Das Glück meiner kleinen Schwester (My Sister’s Good Fortune) 1998 Plätze in Städten (Places in Cities) 2001 Mein langsames Leben (Passing Summer) 2004 Marseille 2007 Nachmittag (Afternoon) 2009 Deutschland 09/Erster Tag; short film · Deutschland 09/Erster Tag; Short Film 2010 Orly 2014 The Bridges of Sarajevo/Princip Text; short film · The Bridges of Sarajevo/Princip Text; Short Film 2016 Der traumhafte Weg (The Dreamed Path) 2019 Ich war zuhause, aber (I Was at Home, But) · Ich war zuhause, aber ... (I Was at Home, But) 2023 Music

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023