In Kenya, "sugar mamas” are European women who lie on the beach scoping out the young African men; the ladies buy a little loving and the guys make a little living. Director Ulrich Seidl once again embraces both his documentary filmmaking past and his obsessive desire to probe human intimacy. The movie was presented in the competition at this year’s Cannes IFF.
In Kenya, "sugar mamas” are European women who lie on the beach scoping out the young African men; the ladies buy a little loving and the guys make a little living. Director Ulrich Seidl once again embraces both his documentary filmmaking past and his obsessive desire to probe human intimacy. Where another filmmaker would say, "Cut,” Seidl leaves the camera rolling as a witness to all the fears, awkwardness, and uncertainties that people often sequester beneath a protective barrier. Fifty-year-old divorcee Teresa heads to Africa as a sex tourist. She quickly befriends an experienced German woman, a permanent client of the luxurious resort, who willingly acquaints Teresa with the unspoken rules of the mutually advantageous business. Paradise: Love is the first part of the director’s trilogy entitled Paradise – about three women, three vacations, and three stories focusing on the desire for happiness.
120 min / Color, DCP
Director Ulrich Seidl
/ Screenplay Ulrich Seidl, Veronika Franz
/ Dir. of Photography Wolfgang Thaler, Ed Lachman
/ Editor Christof Schertenleib
/ Producer Ulrich Seidl
/ Production Ulrich Seidl Film
/ Cast Margarethe Tiesel, Peter Kazungu, Inge Maux
/ Contact Coproduction Office
Ulrich Seidl (b. 1952, Vienna) came to film relatively late, when he cowrote the script for Michael Glawogger’s Krieg in Wien (1989). He then concentrated on documentaries whose focus on the intimate aspects of human life, portrayed with disturbing intensity, guaranteed Seidl the attention of international critics and audiences. Several years in the making, his feature debut Dog Days (Hundstage – Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Venice IFF) was presented at KVIFF 2002, and his other films played the festival as well. Filmography: Good News (1990), Losses to Be Expected (1992), The Last Men (1994), Animal Love (1995), Models (1998), Jesus, You Know (2003 – Best Documentary at KVIFF 2003), and Export/Import (2007). Paradise: Love screened in the competition at this year’s Cannes IFF.
Coproduction Office
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Phone: +33 156 026 000
Fax: +33 156 026 001
E-mail: [email protected]
Margarethe Tiesel
Actress
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