Be my Star

Colour, 35mm
Austria, Germany, 2001, 65 min
Section: Forum of Independents

Synopsis

Nicole is fourteen and has a feeling that her life is about to change. Christopher is a boy of the same age, a neighbourhood hero. Both of them throw themselves into that great adventure known as being a couple. Nicole’s mother works the night shift, so the apartment becomes the stage for a drama enacted by Nicole and Christopher as they attempt to play the male and female leads. Based on their adult role models, the kids try to live out their fantasy of what love is. But nothing is that simple… The film, full of tragicomic situations, is a story about first love set in Berlin-Mitte, a neighbourhood in former East Berlin. Totally authentic, it is reminiscent of Forman’s early films and his adolescent heroes.

About the director

Valeska Grisebach (1968, Bremen) grew up in Berlin. She studied philosophy and German language and literature in Berlin, Munich and Vienna (1989-1993), then continued at the Vienna Film Academy in 1993. She worked as an assistant director on commercials. My Star is her graduation film.