LICHT
Austria, Germany
Synopsis
Director's Statement
Thus, I understand MADEMOISELLE PARADIS not as an escape into the aesthetics of the past, but as a variation on a perpetual and deeply human issue: the constant tension between subordination and adaptation on the one hand, and the determination, on the other hand, to rise above the ordinary.
Beyond that, I want to take the audience on an emotional and sensual journey that challenges the concept of genius in the context of an historical narrative, and that draws our attention to our own often subconscious sensations and their significance in our own lives.
MADEMOISELLE PARADIS is about what and how we see, and about when and whether we should trust what we see.
Director's Biography
In the same year Barbara Albert founded the production company coop99, together with Martin Gschlacht, Jessica Hausner and Antonin Svoboda. She worked as producer on GRBAVICA, DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE, SLEEPER and LOVELY RITA. As a writer she has worked together with the writer/ directors Jasmila Zbanic, Andrea Staka, Ruth Mader and Michael Glawogger.
After FREE RADICALS, FALLING and THE DEAD AND THE LIVING, which premiered in the competitions of San Sebastian, Venice and Locarno, MADEMOISELLE PARADIS is Barbara Albert’s 5th feature film. Her films have received numerous awards. She is a teacher and vice president of the Film University Babelsberg “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam and has been living in Berlin since 2010.
In 2016 she co-founded Berlin-based production company CALA Film, together with the producers of MADEMOISELLE PARADIS, Martina Haubrich and Michael Kitzberger.
Filmography:
2017 – MADEMOISELLE PARADIS
2012 – THE DEAD AND THE LIVING
2006 - FALLING
2004 – MARS, short
2003 – FREE RADICALS
2002 – STATE OF A NATION
1999 - NORDRAND
1997 - SLIDIN' – ALLES BUNT UND WUNDERBAR ("Tagada"), short
1997 – SOMEWHERE ELSE, doc
1996 - SONNENFLECKEN, short
1994 – DIE FRUCHT DEINES LEIBES, short
Cast & Crew
Directed by: Barbara Albert
Written by: Kathrin Resetarits
Produced by: Michael Kitzberger, Martina Haubrich, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Markus Glaser
Cinematography: Christine A. Maier
Editing: Niki Mossböck
Production Design: Katharina Wöppermann
Costume Design: Veronika Albert
Make-Up & Hair: Helene Lang
Original Score: Lorenz Dangel
Sound Design: Christian Conrad
Visual Effects: Matthias Halibrand
Cast: Maria Dragus (Maria Theresia Paradis), Devid Striesow (Franz Anton Mesmer), Lukas Miko (Joseph Anton Paradis), Katja Kolm (Maria Rosalia Paradis), Maresi Riegner (Agnes), Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg (Maria von Posch), Stefanie Reinsperger (Johanna, the cook)
Nominations and Awards
- Feature Film Selection 2018