“Love itself is more important than the object that inspires it,” writes one woman to another. One is Rosa Luxemburg, a political prisoner. The other is her closest friend, Sophie Liebknecht.
Astrid Johanna Ofner
Was Soll Man Machen. - Vor Entzücken?, What Should One Do. - In Delight?
Astrid Johanna Ofner
Austria, Colour and B&W, 2024, Black and white, 51’
International Premiere
- Programme
- Director
Interview
Astrid Johanna Ofner“Bien que nous soyons des femmes, nous n’avons pas peur” - the film opens with “La lega”, a song from the Italian socialist movement, a quite striking testimony of the role of women in the trade unions of the late XIX century. I find it very interesting to explore the female genealogy of revolutionary socialism through the figure of Rosa Luxemburg, can you tell us more about your cinematic research and how it brought you to her?
At the core of the film is the correspondence between Rosa Luxemburg and Sophie Liebknecht during the imprisonment of the first from 1916 to 1918, a few months before her assassination. I would love it if you could tell us what captured you most in these letters and how you worked with them for the construction of the film.
In your film the images of urban landscape and the images of nature are combined with those of female figures: how did you work with the female characters to embody this correspondence?
I had a dream last night
About love at first sight.
Long ago something happened so slow:
Forgotten - still there - hidden anywhere.
And jet - it was always in the air.
You hear a song
Some lines you recall
After so many years.
A book, a moment in the sun
A little bee saved on the run
By someone who cared.
And this feeling wanted to be shared.
Interview by Margot Mecca
Technical sheet
- Original version:German
- Subtitles:English
- Script:Astrid Johanna Ofner
- Photography:David Rabeder, Astrid Johanna Ofner
- Editing:David Pujadas Bosch
- Sound:Simon Rabeder
- Cast:Sylvie Rohrer, Sylvie Rohrer, Merlinda Tahiri, Julia Hermsdorf
- Production:David Rabeer (The Raven FIlms), Simon Rabeder (The Raven Films)
- Contact:Astrid Johanna Ofner, Simon Rabeder (The Raven Films)