Country: Germany
Year: 2024
Duration: 116
Jenny accidentally got pregnant by her new boyfriend, Bolle. Their relationship is built on a strong physical and emotional attraction that, when high on crystal meth, pushes all obvious conflicts into the back- ground. When the youth welfare office finds out about the pregnancy, she is ordered to make arrangements with a family midwife. Jenny’s first son already lives with her mother Renate, so getting to know midwife Marla is therefore marked by skepticism. Against all odds, an unusual bond develops between the two women, and Jenny even decides to entrust Marla with her biggest secret: in a few weeks, she has to start a prison sentence for an offense that lies far in the past. The birth of her daughter is a magical moment that makes Jenny forget all her worries for a moment. She promises her baby to never let her go. But this decision is no longer hers.
Biography
film director
Chiara Fleischhacker
(Kassel, Germany, 1993), sfter studying psychology in Freiburg, she has been studying directing/documentary film at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg since 2015. During her studies she made three documentaries and three scenic shorts. Golden Girl was made during her semester abroad at la fémis Paris; Was Bleibt as part of the further education programme Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris. The films screened at numerous international film festivals (European Filmfestival Lille, Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, Interfilm Berlin, BFI Future London, Filmfest Dresden) and won several awards. Her documentary Kommen um zu Gehen ran in the series Bewegtes Leben of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin.” In 2020 she won the Eobanus Hessus writing competition and in 2022 the Thomas Strittmatter Award with the script of Vena. She is a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation.
FILMOGRAFIA
Alena (cm, doc, 2017), Kommen um zu Gehen (cm, doc, 2017), Im namen des Volkes (cm, doc, 2017), Golden Girl (cm, 2018), Was Bleibt (cm, 2018), Die störche fliegen Noch (cm, doc, 2020), Vena (2024).
Declaration
film director
“In Vena our protagonist Jenny develops strength from her attachment trauma, despite or perhaps because of the crushing reality of her life. At the same time, the film poses questions to the system: How traumatizing can punishment be, and how does the separation of mother and child legitimize itself, especially regarding resocialization and rehabilitation? The fragile process of bonding experiences an existential break that can be carried over several generations. People are not enabled to live by appreciation and straightforwardness, but rather fears and crises are provoked, which can lead to delinquency again. A vicious circle that must be broken.”
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTOR, SCREENPLAY, COPRODUCER: Chiara Fleischhacker. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Lisa Jilg. EDITING: Stefanie Groß, Erin Högerle. CAST: Emma Drogunova, Paul Wollin, Friederike Becht, Barbara Philipp. COPRODUCTION: SWR, HR, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Zughafen Kulturbahnhof, Maier Bros., Vantage. PRODUCTION: Dietmar Güntsche, Martine Rohé, Svenja Vanhoefer, Sophie Kühne, Olivia Sieranski for Neue Bioskop Film.
CONTACT: Picture Tree Int’l pti@picturetree-international.com
