TFF: Rose (R18+)

Winner - Berlinale Silver Bear (Sandra Hüller).

Said to be the "true and twisted tale of a deceiver of land and folk, who, defying her birth as a woman, comported herself as a man and committed many a wicked deed," what follows is far more complex. Battle-worn, 'the soldier' (Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall, SFF 2023) turns up in a village bearing the paperwork to lay claim to an abandoned farmstead. Initially sceptical, the villagers come to respect the industrious stranger. As the soldier's influence grows, he is pressured to marry, which he does – setting in motion a series of surprising and tragic events.

Director Schleinzer (Angelo, SFF 2018) tackles the material, based on historical characters, with a wry humour and an admiration for a gender non-conforming stalwart. 

Cast: Sandra Hüller, Caro Braun, Marisa Growaldt, Godehard Giese, Robert Gwisdek, Augustino Renken, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Rainer Egger

Director: Markus Schleinzer

"Beautifully shot and as engrossing as a lurid soap opera. It’s a story of gender stereotypes, satirising the central mythic tenet of patriarchal Christianity and depicting humanity’s self-invention through violence and stealth." GUARDIAN

"Terrific ... an elegant, intelligent work." SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

"The title role in the austerely beautiful character study Rose is such a thrilling fit for Sandra Hüller — her flinty manner, her fierce conviction, her steely charisma and her incredible economy of means — that it becomes impossible to imagine any other actor nailing the part." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER