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Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste

Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert
Competition 2023
© Wolfgang Ennenbach
She is Austrian, he Swiss; she is a poet, he a playwright; she is a daredevil yet vulnerable, he is adventurous but a little conservative. When Ingeborg Bachmann and Max Frisch meet for the first time in Paris in the summer of 1958, they are already international celebrities of the literary world. In the four years that follow, they dabble in great love and an open relationship between his hometown of Zurich and her adopted Rome. Frisch envies her fame; Bachmann finds his typewriter clatter and his jealousy annoying. She is emancipated, experiments with a liberated existence, is mobile and productive; in Berlin, she writes the famous speech: “The Truth is Bearable for Humankind”. She only realises afterwards that she is suffering, and by how much – with Adolf Opel in the desert, and with Hans Werner Henze in Italy. Margarethe von Trotta interweaves the times before and after the catastrophe. Her direction is frank, sober and elegant. Ronald Zehrfeld as the corpulent, pipe-smoking Frisch and Vicky Krieps (in the role of another cult figure after Empress Sisi) are the perfect match. This film is not about Bachmann’s fatal end, but about her hopes for love and respect, in literature, and in life.
by Margarethe von Trotta
with Vicky Krieps, Ronald Zehrfeld, Tobias Resch, Basil Eidenbenz, Luna Wedler, Marc Limpach, Roberto Carpentieri, Katharina Schmalenberg Switzerland / Austria / Germany / Luxembourg 2023 German, French, Italian 110’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Vicky Krieps (Ingeborg Bachmann)
  • Ronald Zehrfeld (Max Frisch)
  • Tobias Resch (Adolf Opel)
  • Basil Eidenbenz (Hans Werner Henze)
  • Luna Wedler (Marlene)
  • Marc Limpach (Tankred Dorst)
  • Roberto Carpentieri (Giuseppe Ungaretti)
  • Katharina Schmalenberg (Isolde Kurz)

Crew

Director Margarethe von Trotta
Screenplay Margarethe von Trotta
Cinematography Martin Gschlacht
Editing Hansjörg Weißbrich
Music André Mergenthaler
Sound Design Gina Keller, Jacques Kieffer
Sound Patrick Storck
Production Design Su Erdt
Costumes Uli Simon
Make-Up Marc Hollenstein, Miriam Blank
Casting Simone Bär, Lisa Oláh
Assistant Director Florian Engelhardt
Line Producers Christos Dervenis, Julian Berner, Sascha Verhey, André Fetzer
Producers Katrin Renz, Bady Minck, Bettina Brokemper, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu

World Sales

The Match Factory

http://www.the-match-factory.com http://www.the-match-factory.com

Produced by

tellfilm

http://www.tellfilm.ch http://www.tellfilm.ch

Amour Fou Vienna

http://amourfoufilm.com http://amourfoufilm.com

Heimatfilm

http://www.heimatfilm.biz http://www.heimatfilm.biz

Amour Fou Luxembourg

http://amourfoufilm.com/en/ http://amourfoufilm.com/en/

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Margarethe von Trotta

© Börres Weiffenbach

Born in Berlin, Germany in 1942, she studied German and Romance languages in Munich and Paris and acting in Munich. She worked as a theatre and film actor for Fassbinder, Achternbusch and Schlöndorff, with whom she also collaborated as a screenwriter and co-director. She made her own directing debut in 1977 with Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages. Her films Die bleierne Zeit (1982), Heller Wahn (1983), L’africana (1991), Das Versprechen (1995), Rosenstraße (2004) and Die abhandene Welt (2015) all screened at the Berlinale.

Filmography (selection, as director)

1975 Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum; co-director: Volker Schlöndorff · Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum · Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum 1978 Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages · Das zweite Erwachen der Christa Klages 1979 Schwestern oder Die Balance des Glücks · Schwestern oder Die Balance des Glücks 1981 Die bleierne Zeit · Die bleierne Zeit 1983 Heller Wahn · Heller Wahn 1985 Rosa Luxemburg · Rosa Luxemburg 1987 Felix · Felix 1988 Paura e amore (Fürchten und Lieben) · Paura e amore (Fürchten und Lieben) 1990 L’africana (Die Rückkehr) · L'africana (Die Rückkehr) · L'africana (Die Rückkehr) 1993 Il lungo silenzio (Zeit des Zorns) · Il lungo silenzio (Zeit des Zorns) 1994 Das Versprechen · Das Versprechen 1997 Winterkind; TV film · Winterkind · Winterkind · Lulu · Lulu 1998 Dunkle Tage · Dunkle Tage · Dunkle Tage; TV film · Mit fünzig küssen Männer anders; TV film · Mit fünzig küssen Männer anders · Mit fünzig küssen Männer anders 1999 Jahrestage · Jahrestage; TV miniseries · Jahrestage 2003 Rosenstraße · Rosenstraße · Die andere Frau · Die andere Frau · Die andere Frau; TV film 2005 Ich bin die Andere · Ich bin die Andere 2006 Tatort; TV series, 1 episode · Tatort · Tatort 2007 Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen · Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen · Vision - Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen 2009 Die Schwester · Die Schwester; TV film · Die Schwester 2010 Mai per amore · Mai per amore; TV series, 1 episode · Mai per amore 2013 Hannah Ahrendt · Hannah Ahrendt · Hannah Arendt 2014 Die abhandene Welt · Die abhandene Welt 2017 Forget About Nick 2018 Auf der Suche nach Ingmar Bergman 2023 Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste (Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023