German Films Quarterly 1 2012

BARBARA The summer of 1980. Barbara, a doctor, has applied for an exit visa from the GDR. Now, as punishment, she is transferred from the capital to a small hospital out in the country, far from every- thing. Jörg, her lover from the West, is already planning her escape. The Baltic Sea seems like the way to go. Barbara waits. The new apartment, the neighbors, summer- time, the countryside – none of that means anything to her any- more. Working as a pediatric surgeon under her new boss Andre, she is attentive when it comes to the patients, but quite distanced toward her colleagues. Her future, she feels, is to begin later. Andre confuses her. His confidence in her professional abilities, his caring attitude, his smile. Why does he cover for her when she helps the young runaway Sarah? Does he have an as- signment to keep track of her? Is he in love? Barbara is starting to lose control. Over herself, her plans, over love. The day of her planned escape is quickly approaching. Genre Drama Category Feature Year of Production 2012 Direc- tor Christian Petzold Screenplay Christian Petzold Director of Photography Hans Fromm Cast Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock Producers Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Michael Weber Production Company Schramm Film Koerner & Weber/ Berlin, in co-production with ZDF/Mainz Length 100 min Format 35 mm, color, 1:1.85 Original Version German Subtitled Version English Festivals Berlin 2012 (In Competition) With backing from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, BKM, German Federal Film Board, German Federal Film Fund CHRISTIAN PETZOLD was born in Hilden in 1960 and has lived in Berlin since 1981. He studied German Language and Literature before studying at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) from 1988 to 1994. His highly-acclaimed films include: PILOTINNEN (1995), CUBA LIBRE (1996), DIE BLEISCHLAFDIEBIN (1998), THE STATE I AM IN (DIE INNERE SICHERHEIT, 2000), SOMETHING TO REMIND ME (TOTER MANN, 2001), WOLFSBURG (2002), GHOSTS (GESPENSTER, 2004), YELLA (2006), JERICHOW (2008), DREILEBEN – BEATS BEING DEAD (DREILEBEN – ETWAS BESSERES ALS DEN TOD, 2011), and BARBARA (2012). World Sales The Match Factory info@matchfactory.de www.the-match-factory.com photo©HansFromm GFQ 1-2012 28 NEW GERMAN FILMS