Another View 2017 / Axolotl Overkill / Germany 2017
Although just 16, Mifti is already well aware of her electrifying appeal. It’s not just her provocative sexuality, but an assertive disposition that places her in the company of older people who are no strangers to a bohemian lifestyle and parties that last for days. A sexual relationship with an older woman and closer intimacy with a beautiful actress only add to the confusion in the heroine’s head.
If there’s something that 16-year-old Mifti (Jasna Fritzi Bauer) doesn’t live up to, it’s the image of the well-behaved, well-ordered girl. Her mother is dead, her father is too taken up with himself, and the two siblings she occupies the house with aren’t exactly textbook examples of responsibility and stability. Mifti doesn’t think much of spending time with her peers, and why would she when she’s in a sexual relationship with an older woman? The provocative girl’s taxing lifestyle is further intensified when she meets a spontaneous, mentally-dodgy actress named Ophelia (Mavie Hörbiger), whom Mifti takes out on wild nights that stretch into days. Is it just a stage of discovery connected to the trauma suffered by the teenage protagonist, or is her true, independent nature now finding expression? Based on the director’s own novel, Axolotl Roadkill, the film’s controversial content involves the masterful demolition of the stereotypes of female sexuality and behavior, amplified by a bold, over-the-top style. Just as the girl is unafraid to explore and experiment, the film fearlessly departs from the limits of realistic narration in order to offer audiences a refreshing and spontaneous spectacle.
Sandra Hezinová
94 min / Color, DCP
Director Helene Hegemann
/ Screenplay Helene Hegemann podle režisérčina románu / based on the director’s own novel Axolotl Roadkill
/ Dir. of Photography Manu Dacosse
/ Music Milena Fessmann
/ Editor Bettina Böhler
/ Art Director Sylvester Koziolek
/ Producer Hanneke Van der Tas, Alain de la Mata
/ Production Vandertastic
/ Cast Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Arly Jover, Mavie Hörbiger, Laura Tonke, Julius Feldmeier
/ Sales The Match Factory
/ Distributor Aerofilms
Helene Hegemann (b. 1992, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) can be proud of her output thus far: At 14 she wrote the script for the medium-length film Torpedo, which screened in 2008 at the Hof Film Festival and was subsequently released in theaters. She is also the author of the stage play Ariel 15, which she then reworked into a radio play after it received strong reviews. In addition to Axolotl Roadkill, the novel on which she based her feature film debut, she published another book in 2013 entitled Hunting Two Tigers (Jage zwei Tiger). Hegemann holds the Max Ophüls Prize for young artists.
The Match Factory
Domstrasse 60, 50668, Cologne
Germany
Phone: +49 221 539 7090
E-mail: [email protected]
Aerofilms
Milady Horákové 383/79, 170 00, Praha 7
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 224 947 566
E-mail: [email protected]
Ivo Andrle
Distributor
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
