Longing

Colour, 35 mm
Germany, 2005, 88 min
Section: Forum of Independents

Synopsis

A man and a woman from a small village have loved each other since they were children. Now they are both in their thirties. Markus is a metalworker and member of the local fire brigade. Ella works a couple of hours a week as a domestic and sings in a local choir. People eye them with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion: they seem so happy, so innocent…like two children. One day Markus visits the nearby town to take part in a training course with his fire brigade. There is a lot of drinking that night. The next morning Markus wakes up in the apartment of the waitress, Rose… An unusual love story about usual people.

About the director

Valeska Grisebach (b. 1968, Bremen) studied philosophy and German literature in Berlin, Munich and Vienna. From 1993 to 2001 she studied at the Vienna Film Academy. She directed three documentaries: Speaking and Nonspeaking (Sprechen und Nichtsprechen, 1995), In der Wüste Gobi (1997) and Berlino (1999). In 2001 she shot her feature debut, Be My Star (Mein Stern, Karlovy Vary 2002). Longing, her second feature, was premiered at the Berlinale 2006. Both films were shot with young non-professional actors.