To Faro

Colour, 35 mm
Germany, 2008, 88 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Melanie met Jenny and fell in love. But Jenny thinks Melanie is Miguel. Sounds strange? Melanie lives with her father, her older brother Knut and his girlfriend Viki and works in a food packing plant. She looks, dresses and acts like a boy, and people frequently take her for one. Like the slightly younger Jenny, who falls in love with her. At the same time, Melanie is faking a relationship for her family’s sake with a colleague, a Portuguese named Nuno. This tale of the obliquity (sexual and otherwise) of adolescence is a tender and beautiful film about youth, and the sadness, loneliness and confusion that go with it. Its heroine is an odd but charismatic character who has yet to fully resolve her sexuality and gender. The tender magic and the atmosphere of mystery and expectation so typical of the protagonist’s age make for a powerful cinematic experience.

About the director

Nana Neul (b. 1974, Werther, Germany), a rising star of German cinema, studied screenwriting and direction at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. She made the short films A Taste of Snow (Ein Schluck Schnee, 1997), The Yellow Emperor (Der gelbe Kaiser, 1998), 9h11 (1999), Beautiful 2000 (Schön 2000, 2000) and Ligustrum Vulgare (Der gemeine Liguster, 2002). To Faro is her feature film debut. Her second film, a romantic drama entitled Spiegelleben, is in the works.