All language subtitles for Margarethe.von.Trotta-Zeit.der.Frauen-EN

How wonderful that she's happy.

And I hope you are too, today,

my dear Margarethe,
my dearest friend,

when you are handed your award.

You already have my adoration,
as well as my love.

For a very long time,
I had a motto for life,

a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke,

which says,

"Who speaks of victory?

Survival is everything!"

But this is a victory!

What I would love most
is to keep silent.

That would be my biggest wish,

being able to remain silent
more often.

But my job doesn't allow me to.

OK, let's do it again
right now. Camera!

I want your eyes to show
what's going on in your mind.

I depict women who try

to become part of history.

I've got to find a way in that has
something to do with me.

Otherwise, I can't do it.

Of course, it's a privilege,
in a certain sense, to have a job

that you also enjoy doing.

Margarethe von Trotta!

Fear is always there, but...

being afraid is a part
of making films.

And you've got to get over it
again and again every day.

My first memories
of this city are ruins.

I saw these shells of former homes,
and I asked my mother,

"Where is everyone?
Where do they live?

Do they live in the basement
or a tiny room like us?"

I saw more ruins much later on again
in Rome.

But they were the remnants
of an advanced civilisation.

The ruins of my childhood

represented nothing but destruction.

The first house on the right.

Zoppoter Strasse, there it is.

I remember that we used to live
with the Grigoleits.

That was their last name.

It was the...

flat to the right
on the first floor.

But it looks so much prettier now!

We had cardboard windows then.

We couldn't really look outside.

Yeah, that was a while ago.
We also had a small oven in there,

which, of course,
didn't work either.

I think my mother was just happy
that we even found

a room to live in here.

Of course, no one's here.

I had three adults around me,

and they told me, "You're so small
and you look so cute

with a bow in your hair, so now,
you've got to go and beg for us".

Sometimes people gave me stuff
and sometimes not.

The daughter of a baker
lived in the next building,

and she always had food.

But she didn't
give me anything either.

That's why I'm not scared
of poverty.

All I need is a room, a bed,
some books and music,

and that's it.

Then I went to Paris,

like many young women
or girls back then did,

because we couldn't take it
in Germany anymore.

It was just so stuffy, boring,

it was really conservative,
so Paris was a lot more attractive.

The city of existentialism...

We had so many expectations
as to what was waiting

for us there
and what we could do there.

The city of love
and freedom and such...

None of that was actually the case,

but the city just had
a certain flair.

He was my boyfriend back then.

He took this photo of me,

and he just recently sent it to me,
since I didn't have it.

He taught me everything

I needed to know about philosophy.

There were no philosophy courses
back in Germany,

no courses on ethics.
Nothing like that.

We were quite uneducated.

We would walk around Paris,
and he would give me lessons

about philosophy.

Look, that book shop
was already there

when I was a student.

They'd also put the books outside

on shelves, just like those people
standing out front now browsing.

But we never had any money.

So, we'd take a folder,

put it on top of the book
that we wanted,

and then we'd just scoop up the
folder with the book underneath...

and leave.

We always stole two things:

books and baguettes.

But it wasn't so easy
with baguettes. They're too long,

so people caught us.

Super smart, of course.

And here's the next one,
right on top of him.

So...

that's the cinema we'd always go to,

the Champo.

We went to see it all: westerns,

all the New Wave films...
Hitchcock was huge for me.

Orson Welles...
Anything that was shown there.

That's where I first saw

The Seventh Seal by Bergman,

at that cinema.

It all started
with Ingmar Bergman for me.

After I saw The Seventh Seal,
I knew I wanted to become

a director myself.

Everything that interested
me back then

was all bundled up
inside that one film.

We were a group of five or six,
and we did everything together.

First, we used 8mm film,

and then, after that,
we went straight

to using 35mm film.

This film is called:

And With Death Dead,
Nothing Else Dies.

It was And With Death Dead...

You couldn't get any more pompous,
but yeah, you want to say

and include it all in a first film.

So? No kiss then?

So, do you love me?

Of course I love you.

We were all beginners, we were all

huge cinema buffs,
but none of us really had any idea

how to make a film.

But, since we had seen so many films

and had so many images
in our minds already,

it actually turned out to be
quite a nice film.

I learnt filmmaking by going

to the cinema all the time.

After And With Death Dead,
we wanted to do another film,

and I was to play the main part.

I thought, "Well, if I'm supposed
to act, maybe I should

take some acting classes".

I went back to Munich
and took classes while I was there.

MUNICH

UNIVERSITY OF TELEVISION
AND FILM MUNICH

Hello! Finally!

My God, after all

that writing back and forth,

- and never seeing each other...
- I know. I was so excited.

- Yeah! This is just spectacular.
- I'd really like to give you...

Then hug me!

I've had a test...
and you're vaccinated, right?

Yeah! Let me take these off,
so you can see my eyes.

I was just thinking
they looked so cool on you.

- Like, "How stylish!"
- Yeah? Then I'll put them back on.

And now we've got some time
to sit and chat

properly, and tell each other
all our stories.

- You've got quite a few already.
- Absolutely.

I've got a few more, obviously,

- but you're really...
- I've been doing it for 12 years.

And I'm the first women here to hold

a senior position teaching directing
in the school's 50-year history.

There you go! We're making progress.

Of course, I was very excited
to finally meet her,

and I immediately felt
this warmth from her.

I think you can also feel
that warmth in her films.

I mean, people do say films

are just like their makers.

Women have no talent
for megalomania,

and that's what stands in their way
so often as directors.

They are completely unable to say,

"I'm brilliant, and I'm the best!"

- I think it's...
- Well, others should say that.

- Maybe... about oneself?
- Sure!

You need to be a bit patient.

No, you're absolutely right.

I wish you... were even more visible

here in Germany for people like me,

for the people who'll come after.
For people to maybe...

see you more often, or see you
talking somewhere about your path.

It's definitely very important
for women

to see that there's someone
already doing it,

who's been doing it for a while,
and whose work is successful.

I also have to say
that she's practically

the only visible woman

from that generation
who is still making films,

and you can't help but think:

How does she do it?
What kind of director is she

to have been able to maintain
a dialogue with the public

for four decades now?
And she still makes films

that lots of people
still find amazing.

So, we also have to really

actively ensure that such
an important female director

also remains famous.

The way Margarethe and I
came to work together

is worthy... of a novel.

I met Volker...

in 1969.

She first came to me

dressed as a journalist
for the Bavarian radio network,

with a wind-up tape recorder...

and she wanted to interview me

about the release
of Degree of Murder.

After a short while, I noticed

that she had no idea
how to use the machine,

and, since I often tend
to be very impatient,

I told her, "Why don't you learn
how to use that first and come back"

and showed her the door.

Not all true!

Hilarious! That's wonderful.
But it's so typical of him

because he's laying it out as if...

I'd already seen the film,

I thought it was very good,
and I wanted to meet him.

As an actress,
actually, but I didn't dare.

I didn't know that she had
concocted all of that as a pretext

just to get to meet me.

I thought if I went as a journalist,
he would take me seriously.

It was wonderful,
and I thought, "Now,

we can get to talking.
I'll tell him all about

how I also lived in Paris,
that I learnt about films there",

and I thought we'd be able
to chat about our experiences

with filmmaking together.

But then, of course,
his impatience took over,

and he wound up telling me,

"Nicholas Ray is coming by".

He brought me to the door,
opened it, closed it, that was it!

And I thought, "What a rude man!
I never want to see him again".

Two years later,

I rang her...

to offer her a part in Baal,

opposite Rainer Werner Fassbinder,
in the role of Sophie.

And she asked me, "Fine,
but do you want to meet me,

or are you really offering me
the part?"

I'd never heard anything like that
when calling up an actress before,

and I thought, "She's just as cheeky
as the film character".

So, I told her,

"I'm offering you the part, yes,

even though I don't know you.
Would you like to get to know me?"

And then, two years later,
I told him,

"You know that we've already
met each other before?"

Nope, he didn't remember at all.

So, I told him the story,
but he still didn't remember.

And suddenly, thanks to one film,
I'd met both Volker

and Fassbinder, and then,
it kept going from there.

That really got me
right in the centre

of the young, German filmmaking
scene, so I was very lucky.

We got married in February 1971.

That's where we lived.

MUNICH

Obermaier Strasse, number 1,
Volker and I...

for 15 years,
up on the second floor.

We wrote lots of screenplays here.

Lots of happy times
and lots of arguments.

Just as it should be
in a real marriage!

After we wrote the screenplay
for Kombach

and after writing the screenplay
and directing A Free Woman,

there were a few more films

that we worked on together.

And then, a few years later...

Heinrich Böll sent me the pages
of his book Katharina Blum.

We then wrote the script,

and, for a good while, we assumed

that I would play the main part,
since I was still an actress then.

But then, we realised that I...

wasn't right for it.

And so, Volker suggested
that we make the film together.

We would both direct it.

In the last few years,
the actress has worked

more and more as a writer,

including the theatre version

of the film by her husband,
based on the novel Katharina Blum.

THE LOST HONOUR OF KATHARINA BLUM

The problem with co-directing

only started when the film
was actually completed.

Suddenly, it should have said

"Directed by" or "A film by

Margarethe von Trotta
and Volker Schlöndorff".

It wasn't so much
about this film exactly,

but I knew
that I had to become visible

as a director for once,
because I was hoping

that I could finally make
my own film afterwards.

THE LOST HONOUR OF KATHARINA BLUM

In order to be recognised
as a co-director

on paper
and in the opening credits,

she really had
to force it out of us.

And, I've got to say,
I'm still ashamed even now

that we put up so much resistance
back then.

I think it's really nice of him
to say that today,

because he was absolutely convinced
at that time

that women shouldn't really
be directing films.

Even though he'd already helped me
with that first film.

He'd already supported me
while making my first film.

Those were also the years
around 1968,

and all of society
was in complete upheaval,

and we were both... initially

interested in politics,
and then became more engaged.

THE SECOND AWAKENING
OF CHRISTA KLAGES, 1977

We had visited some prisons
with the International Red Aid,

and that's how the story
of this bank robbery

to fund a day-care centre
came about.

That's also where the idea came

for her to make the story
into a film.

Who are you looking for?

I'm looking for Christa Klages.

That was the first shooting day

of my first film ever. It wasn't
the first scene in the film,

but it all started here.
My first shooting day

in my life as a director.

- Christa Klages?
- Yes?

You're under arrest.

They first ask for her name,

and then these two police officers

grab her by the arms

and force her into the car.

That was a long time ago.
I filmed that in 1977.

Margarethe essentially
had it very easy

with her first film

when she brought it to the WDR,
since she was already known.

She was the co-director

of Katharina Blum.

"Oh, yeah, but that film
was by Schlöndorff".

I mean, you can just imagine

how people talked about it
behind closed doors.

And then... I told them...

I said, "Look,

if something goes wrong,
I've got her back.

I'll be ready to jump in
whenever I need to".

They said, "OK, then.
That's fine".

No! I had absolutely no idea at all.
Had he told me beforehand

that he had provided the guarantee,
so to speak, for my film,

I'd have killed him.

I wouldn't have accepted it.

I still remember...

when we were in Hamburg one time,

for a showing of Katharina Blum.

And, I mean, it was obvious
from the opening credits

that we had both directed the film,
that we both

had written the script together,

and, during the Q&A afterwards,

whenever I wanted to speak, the host
said, "Let your husband talk".

I noticed it many times,

and it was very insulting.
Afterwards, I asked Volker,

"Didn't you notice
what he was doing?

You could've said something too!"
But no, he hadn't noticed at all.

Men don't see it!

And it was so infuriating

to have to keep pointing it out.

Yeah, well,
that's how it was back then.

There were no female directors.

Back then, it wasn't as easy
as it is nowadays with...

ACTRESS

so many female directors.

They've got it a lot easier

than Margarethe did at that time.

It was so conceited of them

to think it wasn't a woman's place,

and it was absolutely absurd.
It was bad, yes.

Yeah, actually, it was very bad.

Tomorrow, in Düsseldorf,

an interested audience
will be shown a film

called Sisters

or The Balance of Happiness.

It's about

three different women's
lifestyles and behaviour.

It sounds quite dry now,
but it's very exciting.

I'm trying to pay attention,
like the audience, I think.

So, it's about three women.

I'm a woman, so it's easier
for me to depict women,

so that's why I try to show
how women live.

But they could just as well be men.

One is a secretary...

So, the way you just put it -
and excuse me for interrupting -

you were trying to imply
you're no women's libber?

No, I am. I'm a feminist.

But that doesn't mean I want
to chop off men's heads.

So, Ms von Trotta,

this is your second attempt,
or, if you rather,

your second large project.
There was already one before.

What do you mean by "attempt"?

I knew you were going to catch that.

May I ask how your husband
feels about it?

Well, I missed her very much!
I'd lost half of my talent.

People always say Margarethe's
main characters

are women, and she approaches it
with a feminist perspective and all.

But, in all reality,

Margarethe has always tried
to relate contemporary history

but through stories told
from a female point of view.

During that time of protest,
there was a saying:

The personal is political.

But what that actually meant...

Those of us who went around using it

didn't know exactly what it meant,
but we experienced it.

It was precisely about making films

to cause a political effect.

When I met Volker,
I was already a left-winger.

What happened up on the 7th floor

early this morning
in Stammheim Prison,

according to a press conference...

after the events in Mogadishu,

Andreas Baader and Jan-Carl Raspe
shot themselves

in Stammheim Prison,
dying from their wounds.

Gudrun Ensslin hanged herself
from the window frame in her cell.

Thursday 27 October,

Dornhalden Cemetery, Stuttgart...

GERMANY, AUTUMN 1978

The idea for Marianne and Juliane

was basically dictated to us,
so to speak,

in Dornhalden Cemetery
in Stuttgart...

where we had attended the funeral
for Baader, Ensslin

and Raspe the evening before.

A young woman was there,
Christiane Ensslin,

Gudrun's sister,

who, of course, came over
to speak to us immediately.

Then I met Christiane at the funeral

for the three Stammheim inmates,

and we...

DIRECTOR

got on well really quickly.
We already knew

a lot about each other, so we
were sort of drawn to each other.

She told me a lot that day.

And that encounter... was the origin

for what later

became the film
Marianne and Juliane.

The story of these two sisters.

KINO 81

When I made the film,

Margarethe didn't like me at all.

The entire team didn't like me.

I knew that if I needed
to show emotions

on my face like she wanted,

then I really had to focus on myself

and somehow tune out
everything else.

She was very unfriendly
towards me while shooting.

I mean, she got so into the part...

I thought, "Nope. I never want
to make something with her again".

Hey, what are you talking about?

MARIANNE AND JULIANE

Where did you end up?
Do you write for the Springer press?

Do you actually know
what's going on here?

The only people I see are you
and my lawyer, once a month.

But she still wound up
casting me as Rosa Luxemburg,

and then everyone liked me,

including her, since Rosa Luxemburg
was, of course,

this wonderful person.

Margarethe then popped up

with the film that was later called

Marianne and Juliane.

I read it...

and thought,
"What the hell is this...

personal sh*t?"

MARIANNE AND JULIANE

This theme... The fact that
the theme at that time

was making things personal

seemed absolutely inadmissible
to me.

And then it was rejected
by the WDR.

I try to create understanding,

and I have sometimes been accused

of not being repulsive enough.
That's why the WDR

rejected the script.

I don't arouse enough repulsion
for the character.

In all of her films,
Margarethe has said the same thing

that Hanna Arendt had said:

Namely, "I want to understand".

And she approaches her characters

and figures

with the impetus
of "I want to understand,

I'm asking questions,

I'm observing", instead of...

"I've got an opinion
about this person.

That's what I'm showing".

MARIANNE AND JULIANE

You're wrong, Jan.

Your mother
was an extraordinary woman.

Can you actually call a terrorist

an extraordinary woman?

That created a scandal. So what?

She was extraordinary to me.

A film premiere in Berlin...

One that was only showered
with prizes

at the Venice film festival:

Margarethe von Trotta's
Marianne and Juliane.

The film Marianne and Juliane!

By Margarethe von Trotta,

from the Federal Republic
of Germany.

Something must've happened to me

when I finally saw
Margarethe's completed film.

I thought that, perhaps,
I had indeed made a mistake.

Some of what
you all are thinking is right.

- That changes nothing!
- It does!

- Just more slowly.
- I can't revolt as an old lady.

So, this is the right time
just because you're still young?

That really got me out...

into the world, that film,
and I suddenly had

all of this attention
that I'd never had before.

I mean, after your third film,

that's really a great gift
to be given.

It was the biggest film
at that time.

MARIANNE AND JULIANE

Werner Herzog was in Venice

when I won the award,

so I was very happy, sure.

But he told me,

"Watch out. They're going
to attack you with your next film".

I didn't want to believe him,
but he said,

"You're a woman,
and you've been too successful.

Germans can't stand that".

Film buffs queuing up
in front of the cinema

to buy advanced tickets
for the German film Sheer Madness.

And he was right.
I hadn't wanted to believe it,

but when the film Sheer Madness

was being shown
at the film festival in Berlin,

that's when the criticism
rained down on me.

Sheer Madness is already
the fourth submission.

It premiered yesterday.

You've been ignoring me recently.

SHEER MADNESS

We're still friends, though.
That's what you wanted.

Yeah, but I'm still here.

Sheer Madness is a woman's film.

A personal story
with political statements.

It tells of the friendship
between two different women.

The legend of male bonding
has been around since the Greeks,

always friendship between men.

But female bonding... For me,

I had this desire to depict
friendship between women...

in a way that, until then,

hadn't been seen on film.

The men weren't evil in the film,

they just weren't
all that important, let's say.

They were no longer important

because the women
understood each other so well.

That's where it all started,

with this theme

that a woman is an independent...

person.

Ruth and I have to get to bed.
We're heading out early tomorrow.

I wanted to go to the Roman church
with Olga and Erika tomorrow.

I can't stay longer.

Why don't you leave before me,
and I'll go back with Olga?

- I'm meant to go home alone?
- I'll bring you to the airport.

Or is it a bother if we stay longer?

On the contrary! I'd be delighted.

Erika!

Don't get involved.

But we really have enough space
this year.

- You should keep quiet.
- No way! Ruth's coming with me.

Don't worry about it, Franz.
I'll get her back safe and sound.

For me, this theme was...
I mean, it was part

of the zeitgeist back then.
It was... so fitting,

and it was the hot topic
of the time:

What figures are men?

How do you...

treat the beginnings
of female emancipation?

It was happening at home,

just like we were seeing
in politics.

In that sense, I thought
the material was spectacular,

and it was told outstandingly.

At the Berlinale,
the audience at the premiere

greatly enjoyed the film.

But critics reacted
with downright malice.

"The men are like wet noodles" -

Süddeutsche Zeitung.

"The men are oafs and weaklings,
in any case" - Die Welt.

"It's for intellectual illiterates"
- Frankfurter Rundschau.

It was unfair. I thought

it was really inappropriate
on the part of many critics.

It's just not right...

to write stuff like that. Why?
Why so much hate?

ACTRESS

Why are men dishing it out
to women like that? What's that?

And always all at once,
over and over... I don't get it.

OF DACHSHUNDS AND GREAT DANES

"APPARENTLY, IN GERMAN FILMS, IT'S
A BONUS TO BE BORN WITHOUT A PENIS."

One review was particularly...

malicious, and it was in Tip,

a magazine in Berlin that discusses

all the new films and such.

In Germany, people have always
taken it out on us.

I mean, Margarethe really didn't

have a chance with the film.
It was impossible.

If I remember correctly,
one review even said

that Hannah Schygulla was like...

a rusted bike bell
and Angela Winkler

was like a jammed luggage rack.
I mean, things, comparisons,

that are, of course,
just disgusting for women.

That's why Margarethe
wrote to me afterwards to say,

"Angela, the film is a hit abroad,

in America, in Italy,

and you're being celebrated
all over.

But nobody in Germany
is crowing about it at all.

They didn't like the film".

SHEER MADNESS

The women at the festival

were so angry...

and furious, that they...
And I didn't know this.

I wasn't in on it.

Three or four of them went
to the paper's building

one night and wrote "male pig"

all over the walls inside.

Of course, I was accused
of having sent them to do it.

So, of course,
I could never again hope

to see a good review about me
in that paper at any point.

I think that Margarethe

is a true fighter.

I really admire that about her.

Once you've gotten in
after fighting so much for it,

so that you could even make
a film to begin with,

that strength stays with you.
You don't give up so quickly.

In America, the film was one
of the year's top ten.

It was shown again recently,
last year...

before the coronavirus.

I saw the film on the big screen,

and I was just so fascinated

sitting there watching,

and I realised just how great

a film it is,
and how relevant it still is.

Because there's still no...

We still don't have equal rights.

How is it that some people
get to decide for other people?

My darling, the entire history
of human civilisation

is based on some people deciding
for other people.

I was in America,
and I had just found

an American agent,

and I'd received a few offers

and the offer for a part
in Rosa Luxemburg came,

and the American agent told me,

"If you go back to Germany,
I won't be able to work for you.

You're either over there or here".

Fassbinder was supposed
to make the film Rosa Luxemburg

but he died beforehand,
so the producer approached me,

"You have to do the film now.
You were friends with Fassbinder,

and you're a woman.

And Rosa is a woman".

That was the first time that someone

had viewed the fact
that I was a woman

as an advantage.

Already hotly talked about
before shooting began,

the film Rosa Luxemburg
by Margarethe von Trotta

has now been released.

Will it live up
to the high expectations?

To the revolution!

Jakob!

Most have not come as far as you!

It either happens all over Germany
or not at all.

For me, Rosa Luxemburg's death

was the beginning
of that horrible century.

There she is, the old whore!

THE DESIRE TO FIGHT,
THE STRENGTH TO LIVE

She was a woman,
a Jew and a revolutionary,

and she had to be killed.
Three times, mind you.

First, they hit her on the head,
which almost killed her.

Then, she was shot.

And then she was thrown
into the channel.

They were so scared of her,
that they had

to kill her three times.

Rosa Luxemburg...
That collaboration

did not come about without creating

conflict and fighting.

You can't describe someone
only by what

they think and do politically.

I wanted to depict the entire woman.

We were sitting in a cafe arguing,

and the ash tray in front of us -
since we both still smoked then -

kept getting fuller and fuller.
I think the waiter

came to empty it
at least two times.

That's how intensely we debated

over the image of social democracy.

If we don't keep them back,

blood will spill for nothing

and no revolution!

The proletariat is marching,
that's already a revolution!

With its seemingly random editing,
the character of "Red Rosa",

played outstandingly
by Barbara Sukowa, by the way,

slips between being a heroin
and a chatty

female doctor in prison.

She read everything that I had read

before writing the script too.

That's also how she prepared
for the role.

And, for example, she had a...

an anti-war speech
that was in the script...

One day, she came to tell me,
"I've got a much better one.

I found it. Read it".

It was better than the one
I'd put in the script,

so we included it.

The people can

and should live together in peace!

She also always says,
"With you, I can go as far

as I want and exaggerate
and try whatever I want out,

but I know you'll always
reel me back in".

Barbara Sukowa, for Rosa Luxemburg!

We became so close and such,

that she told me,

"I would film the telephone book
with you,

that's how in-tune I am with you.

Whatever you want to do with me,
I'm there".

We've just spent
a very long time with each other,

and we've seen a large part
of each other's lives.

We've...

gone through a lot personally,
and have shared it with each other.

When you've made something
like that with an actress

and it's mutual... She trusts me,

I trust her.

A director couldn't ask
for anything better.

At that time,
Volker was in America quite often,

and he wanted to stay in America
and make films there.

I didn't want to go to America.
I wanted to stay in Germany.

So, that's how we started
to drift apart,

until it led to our
final separation.

ROME

Coming from Germany to Rome

is such a change in the culture,
the light,

the friendliness of people...
Actually, I only wanted to come here

to shoot that one film,

and then I thought
I'd go back to Germany.

But then, they immediately
asked me to start

working on the next one,
and I was happy to do it.

It makes me happy
to come back here every time.

I was at a point in my life
where I really needed a change,

and a change of scenery,
more light.

In my opinion, Germany was getting
gloomier and gloomier,

really grey,
even politically speaking.

I mean, politics here
weren't all that sunny either,

but the light was nicer,
and life was sunnier,

and the people I was working with

were just wonderful.

So, I stayed on,
and then I fell in love.

Check.

I met her in Berlin,
at the film festival,

and we got
into this very amusing conversation

even when it came to politics

and the differences
in the left wing.

She also came to a film festival

that I was doing then in Bari.

And then, we saw each other again

when I came back,
and he invited me.

We saw each other on and off,
always in connection with films.

Yeah, and, at some point,
we realised we liked each other.

So, this relationship began
on a holiday

and we were together...
for eight or nine years.

Margarethe is very popular
with younger people.

What really amazes me

is especially that young people

watch her films and appreciate her.

Lots of young women admire her

and have seen quite a lot
of her films.

Margarethe is really dedicated
to the situation of women

and cares about it very much.

Many women feel close to her

because they can identify

with the portrayals in her films,

with the fact of being women.

There is always this great attention

given to the condition of women

in all Margarethe's films

that brings her even closer to them

because the films address
their problems. That creates these

sort of extraordinary relationships.

I see it in Rome too,
when we're going somewhere

and walking together,

and all these strangers,
who are often

very young, come to say hello.

Thank God the cinema is still here!
It's one of the few

art film cinemas
that has managed to survive.

My film Hannah Arendt
was shown here.

They sent me photos,

and this entire square
was full of people

wanting to get in.

So, it has a special meaning to me.

Marcello Mastroianni,
this was during my Italian period.

I'm handing him an award,

the Fellini Award,
as you can see here.

There's a caricature
of Fellini on it.

Yeah, I really got

to know Marcello very well.

He often invited us over,
and we did the same,

and every time...

he'd tell me,
"I can also speak German!"

Every time he invited us to dinner,
before we'd all sit down

to eat at his house in Fregene...

where we used to live too,

he'd always sing a song to her
in German,

the same one, every time.

He'd always sing
this dreadful rhyme

that he didn't understand at all
but must've seen in some film

at some point,
and it went something like,

"The landlady had a man"...

And that was followed by something

terribly pornographic.

Of course, he didn't understand,

but I'd tell him every time,
"Marcello, if you knew

the stuff you were saying to me
right now..."

But no, he always wanted to prove
to me that he could speak German.

It was a sort of running gag

between us.

Someone else who loved Margarethe
and made a film with her

was a very political actress,
who was also a deputy

in parliament,

a deputy for the Communist Party,
Carla Gravina,

the protagonist of the film
The Long Silence,

for which she was awarded the prize
for best actress

at the Montreal film festival.

It won three prizes,
including the Public Prize,

in Montreal.

Carla won for Best Actress,

and she Best Actress again
at the Golden Globes

in Italy.

Ennio Morricone also won
a Golden Globe

for the soundtrack,
and I won one for the screenplay.

THE LONG SILENCE

The film came about
in a very strange way.

One afternoon, in mid-summer,

on 19 July,
a date I'll never forget,

I was woken up from a nap.
It was very hot,

and I was tired,
so I washed up and napped.

At five o'clock,
Margarethe woke me up,

which never happened,

and she told me,
"Come look what's happened!"

Apocalyptic scenes...

Two months after the massacre
in Capaci and the deaths

of Judge Falcone, his wife

and three bodyguards,
the Mafia struck once again.

This time, public prosecutor

Paolo Borsellino was the target.

Judge Borsellino

and five of his bodyguards
were killed in front

of his mother's house.

Is there more information?

Yes, it has just been confirmed

that the body that has been found

is that of Paolo Borsellino.

I screamed.
My emotional reaction

was to scream,
because, a few months earlier,

Falcone had been killed.

In order to get rid of him,

Cosa Nostra decided
to commit this massacre.

I was very shaken up too,
of course, by these two murders,

first Falcone and then Borsellino.

I felt as though somebody
had to respond to it.

Something had to be done,
instead of just

falling apart in desperation.

Falcone! Falcone!

I spent a week writing

the screenplay.
I went for it immediately.

On 19 July, we had experienced

this tragedy,

and, by 10 August,

we already had the screenplay
in our hands.

Long story short, the film
came about very quickly.

- Hello!
- Hello.

- Here you are.
- Thank you!

Look at this!

That wasn't here before.

That didn't used to be there,

this second gate.

It was wonderful, especially
because it was just a normal street.

Now, it's become
a very touristy street

with all of these cafes everywhere.

You can't go anywhere here
like normal anymore

because everything's
always so full!

It used to be nothing
but normal businesses before.

When we shot
The Long Silence here...

we were up there.
Do you see that yellow building?

All those windows
that she opens and closes...

that was up there.

We filmed the street
from up there, at that window,

as the cars drove away

with the judge and his escort.

There used to be
a newspaper stand here.

That's gone too.

THE LONG SILENCE

The film is actually set in Palermo,

but we couldn't actually
film there at the time

because of the Mafia,
so the whole film was shot in Rome.

But her point of view

was a very novel one, unprecedented.

Because she wanted to talk about

the loneliness...

and the pain

felt by women.

Of women, the mothers
and the wives...

of the judges who are involved

in this battle with the Mafia.

Good evening,
we interrupt this programme

with some very tragic news

that we have just received.

An aeroplane, a Falcon 10,
which took off in Zurich

and was heading to Rome, exploded
a few minutes ago in flight.

Besides the two onboard
crew members,

the plane was carrying
judge Marco Canova

and two of his bodyguards...

Margarethe had gone
to Palermo several times

before she shot the film
to talk with women

whose husbands had been killed
for being judges.

So, it seemed only natural and fair

to hold the world premiere
of the film

in Palermo.

We held it at a cinema,
where the owner...

was very much against the Mafia.

He was only too happy

to allow us to use the room.

We went in a taxi,

and I told the taxi driver

that we were going
to the premiere of my new film.

He told me,
"The Mafia has already torched

that place three times".

The cinema, he meant.
"Oh my God", I thought.

Universal, this major studio,
was distributing the film...

but they had to cancel it

because only 30 cinemas

in all of Italy
had agreed to show the film.

The owners of the cinemas
were scared

because some other cinema
had been burnt down.

THE LONG SILENCE

Do you need help?

We showed the film in Palermo
another time...

at another cinema.

And, once again,
the cinema was packed,

once again,
there were standing ovations...

It was a huge success.

Margarethe was praised

for her bravery,

both the first and the second time.

Have a good day, Toni!

The news of the day
comes again out of East Berlin...

The East German news agency
Aktuelle Kamera was there.

When Günter Schabowksi

informed the international press
in the evening.

The Council of Ministers
has reached a decision

around new travel regulations.

Yes, indeed,
all permanent departures

at all border crossing points
from the GDR to the FRG,

so to West Berlin...

The Wall is now open
as of this evening.

This evening,
at the Brandenburg Gate,

spontaneous reactions from Berliners
loudly screaming, "Open the gates!"

The day the Wall was built,

I was in Paris,

and, when it "fell", I was in Rome.

Hello! La Repubblica, please.

I ran to the nearest newspaper stand

and bought La Repubblica,

and the big headline read

"The Fall of the Wall".

- Thank you!
- Have a nice day.

GERMANY, FALL OF THE WALL
HISTORIC DECISION: "YOU CAN GO WEST"

THE ENTIRE GDR CELEBRATES
THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE

One night, when we
were at dinner in a restaurant

in the Corso Vittorio,

where Margarethe and I
often ate with my brother,

Francesco, he asked her

if she didn't want to make a film

about the Wall.

Felice's brother,
Francesco Laudadio,

was a producer
and a director himself.

He said, "You owe it
to your country..."

He was very emotional about it...
"...to make a film about this".

At first, I said I couldn't do it,

since I hadn't lived in Berlin
during that time,

and I wasn't fit to do it.
But then, we started doing it,

and I asked Peter Schneider to help,
and he jumped

at the chance to work on it.
The story didn't

just come to us at the start.

We really put a lot of work into it.

THE PROMISE

When I decided to do it...

I had the feeling that it
had to somehow...

SCREENWRITER

become this German but smaller...

humbler... version...

of Gone with the Wind.

THE PROMISE

It's funny that the idea
for a German film

by Margarethe was born in Italy.

Interestingly, and more importantly,

the cast included actors
from both East

and West Germany. That's...

quite important, really.

It was really

amazing... that Margarethe

was making a film that took place
while the Wall was up.

Well, before the Wall was up
and then while it was up.

I was offered a small part,

and it made me very happy.
I felt so honoured.

- Lena painted pandas this morning.
- Nice.

THE PROMISE

Alexander promised he'd take her
to the zoo with him next time.

How do I tell her she can't go?

Then let's go to the zoo here.

To the East Berlin zoo?

There are no pandas there.

It's a highly-interesting...

political-private film...

that relates something connected
to German history.

One of your films,
your most recent film...

has just opened

the film festival in Berlin.

I believe it's been a very long time
since a film by a female director

has done that?

Actually, recently,
only American films

have opened the festival,

so the fact that a German film
even opened

the film festival here
was actually already

quite special!

The opening film that was shown
this evening, The Promise,

is a love story
between a German man and woman

that recounts the fall of the Wall
very personally.

The Spiegel says,
"Get ready for the tears".

Our separation didn't break me.

THE PROMISE

But I never...

I've always loved you.

You've got to remember,
it wasn't my fault.

It wasn't some weakness on my part
that kept us apart.

The Promise turned out to be

a huge flop in German cinemas.

Why that was...

I couldn't even tell you now.
We were perplexed too.

That's for being a liar!

Have you gone mad?

Of course, we'd all read the script,

and that was how the film was shot.

I mean, nobody can say
it was anything else, really.

You wanted to keep me out.
Exclude me!

Just like you've always excluded me.

We had insight into everything,

and we played along willingly.

Everyone was very happy

after the read-through
and working on the film

with the final product.

But it just didn't work out for us
later on.

Somehow, in the film...

we didn't really nail it in the end.

We didn't manage to portray

the East side in a way...

that truly reflected it.

It was certainly the case for many
that they had the feeling

of having been cheated,
to a certain extent,

even though
it was the script verbatim!

I've only ever seen the film
one time before,

and that was at the opening
of the Berlinale.

The film first came out

at the 1995 Berlinale.

So much time had already gone by,

that they judged their own past

in a different way.

I'd do anything with you
if you really cared about us.

My life is here with you.

THE PROMISE

It wasn't the film!
The film was exactly

what they'd read beforehand
in the script.

It was their own feeling
that had changed.

And I understood.

I'd already...

written the script for Rosenstrasse

and naturally assumed that it
would be made into my next film.

But money was short again,

and the film project fell through.

I had to wait another four years

until it even came back around.

I met her in Paris,

and, just like the generous person
she is, she said, "Let's go eat".

And, of course, she wanted
to invite me,

but I actually wanted
to treat her to dinner.

When we started discussing
who would pay,

she said, "Yeah, well...

maybe that's
for the best, because...

the financial situation
isn't great right now".

I didn't say that. I didn't go
and say, "Please, help me!"

He just sensed it,

and he went to speak to Witte,
who was still the boss then,

and said,
"We've got to help this lady".

So, I said, "Well, Margarethe...

stop with this fixation on cinema

and just start doing television".

And they offered me a script
right then and there

for television, whereas
I'd always said, "Never TV!

I'm only going to make films
and do cinema".

And then I started working
in television and wound up

staying there for quite a while -
and I even enjoyed it.

- Quiet, please! We're filming.
- You're starting?

Yeah.

OK, Franz?

- Ready.
- Action!

I mean, the show Anniversaries
was really a big task

and such an important story
and a wonderful book series...

it naturally could not
have been made into just one film.

Thank you!

Wonderful, wasn't it?

- Good, yeah?
- Yes, OK.

I'm always joining in.
It's terrible!

Yeah, I noticed!

Frank Beyer was originally
supposed to make it,

and he'd actually already gotten
quite far along

with the preparations,
but, at some point,

he'd had a falling out
with the producer.

And, due to the casting dispute,

Beyer was removed
from the film team.

That meant they no longer
had a director.

Three months
before shooting started!

And only then
did they approach me.

I wasn't their first choice.

I was actually
their emergency back-up!

Then, Trotta came to mind again...

and she was very enthusiastic
about taking part...

but she was somehow wondering,

"Can I really step into the shoes

of my ousted, honourable

GDR colleague Beyer

and really fill the void?"

I asked the producers
to provide me with written proof

that they had parted amicably,

and that I was not taking away
anything from anybody.

I wanted it in writing.

Like me, Beyer was a member

of the Academy of Arts...

and he went to them to say

that he had been cheated

and that they'd taken
the film away from him,

and so on and such,

but he didn't say a thing
about me directing it now.

And then, Schlöndorff organised
the signing

of a petition
at the Academy of Arts

by all of these artists.

"How terrible is it
that Margarethe von Trotta...

stole a film from one of our peers?"

No... I didn't organise a petition.

Not at all. This was a director

who had been hired
by the broadcasting channel...

who was then fired

over some argument
about his assistant director.

And it was Frank Beyer,
this huge, big name.

How could he be fired?

Everybody signed it,
but they didn't know yet

that I was the person
targeted by it.

Only Volker knew,
and he signed dutifully.

Lots of people signed it!

Hopefully, every director

who cared a bit
about themselves did.

Suddenly, in the papers,
two photos were published:

one of Volker, the artist
working in solidarity,

and then me, next to him,
the pariah.

If you ask Volker about it,
he always says,

"I mean, I don't even understand

why it was such a problem"
and whatnot.

But, I mean...

he did it! It's just old love.

So, I told Volker, "Listen,

I don't want anything
to do with you now.

There's no need for you
to ever talk to me again.

I am so outraged by this.

That's it. We're done".

Of course, he apologised,
"I didn't know" and so on.

So, he wrote to Gras
to say that's not what had happened,

and all, fine, whatever.
We're the best of friends today.

Things like that happen, of course,

and I'm always ready
to be forgiving.

But it really hurt me back then.

Really, really hurt me,
I have to say.

There's no stress to be felt
on this set.

The New York interiors were filmed
in Cologne.

The home of Gesine
and her daughter, Marie...

Dietrich Ericsson, Gesine's husband,

is returning from a business trip.

No, kiss a bit longer than that!

But I just gave you five marks!

Then, the producers calculated,
I suppose,

and they were two million short.
It had been spent.

So, they needed someone
who could get it done

for two million less.

Then, the producers asked

my cameraman, behind my back,

they asked him, "Is Trotta fast?"

He found it quite... shameless

to only ask him if I worked fast

and not ask him if I were any good.

Anyway, I filmed it,
and I saved them two million.

- No, leave it...
- Only the end then.

FILMING ANNIVERSARIES

I made the first film
with Franz Rath as my cameraman.

I saw how well he worked,
I thought he was great,

and we immediately got on
with each other.

And then,
we worked together from 1977

until 2002, making films.

OK, let's see, Werner.

Unfortunately, I can only...

I can't come with you.

Quiet, please!

I can't see a thing, it's terrible!

He died... a few months ago.

When I feel it concerns me,

that it's speaking to me,
that I suddenly feel

this lump in my throat,
then I know it's worked.

I think it's essential
to not get caught up

in your own technique

and to only see a situation
from one perspective or the other.

I think you also need
to experience it

like the very first viewer.

Nobody has ever seen it before.
Through the lens,

I'm the first person sitting
in the cinema watching it.

We had a look through the script,
we thought

about the style, how to do it,

before we'd even chosen
the filming locations.

I've never gone over

the budget for a film.

Maybe that actually helped me,

since the producers
still wanted to work with me.

THE MAKING OF ROSENSTRASSE
2003

I think if everybody feels secure,

and is confident that...

that they can go far,
like I was saying with Barbara,

that they can just try out
whatever they want...

If that kind of trust exists,

it creates an atmosphere

in which everyone can do
their absolute best.

I want my husband back!

I want my husband back!

- Erich!
- Roman!

She's always acknowledging,

she's always affectionate
and she's so enthusiastic too.

Great!

Good.

Thank you!

She wrote Rosenstrasse

at the beginning of the 1990s
after Nathan Stoltzfus,

an American historian,
had done the research for it.

1999, I believe,
I was living in New York.

I was finally working in film,
the phone rings...

and a voice says, "Hello,
this is Margarethe von Trotta".

And all my friends knew
that Margarethe von Trotta

was my favourite director,
and that it was my dream in life

to meet her and work with her.

So, I didn't believe it was her.
I said, "Oh, come on!

Who is this really?"

There's this kind of pause,
and she goes,

"No... it's Margarethe von Trotta.

I need to work
with an American writer".

I said, "What's the film about?

Maybe I can read up or research",

and she said, "You know,
I've applied for funding,

and I'm not going to know
for a couple of months

if I have it,
if I have the money or not.

I don't want to say more

because I'm afraid
it will curse it".

I used to consult a fortune teller
back then.

It was a time when you just
tried everything out a bit.

She also used to read
Fellini's cards.

I said... "You're superstitious?"

And she said... "Of course!"

I mean, you can believe it or not,
but there's something to it.

And I said, "My feminist,
filmmaking hero

is superstitious?"

I said, "I can't tell you
how disappointed I am",

and she answered,
"You're very funny".

She goes, "That's good.
We're going to need that". Hangs up.

So, the first thing that happened
was, I read the script she had,

and I said, "God, this is perfect!"

And, you know, it was perfect.

I said, "You have it". I read
the literature that she had read,

and it was like you had taken
what mattered

out of the historical context,

dramatised it
and put it into a script.

ONE OF THE MOST MOVING MOMENTS
IN OUR HISTORY...

This is your mother as a girl,
in Berlin.

- And the woman?
- That's the woman who saved her.

When Shiva is over,
I'm going to Berlin.

There's only one "Fischer"
in Germany, so you'll find her.

I called her and pretended
I was an American historian.

Something else, I think
on a personal level,

happened to me.

I grew up
around German-Jewish emigres.

They were nothing special.
They bored me.

I ignored my past.

And so, I think, as a person
but also as a writer,

in a way, the most important thing
she taught me...

You can't confront history,

you can't confront the past
of a character

if you don't confront yourself.

Please stay back.

ROSENSTRASSE

Excuse me?

Pardon me, is this not
the Jewish welfare office?

It used to be.

Now it's become a Jewish prison.

What?

And you both keep looking up,

and the camera will go by
in front of you...

Murder!

She always knows everyone's name,
and if she doesn't, she looks

at them for a while
as she holds their hand...

and she often has to look up,
since she's so short...

and goes, "Tell me your name again.
Yes, of course!"

It creates a community
and that's reinforcing.

And the strength from that
has taken me even further.

VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Thank you. They're my friends.

Have a nice evening.

- Thanks!
- No worries.

A woman who made Rosa Luxemburg

had to make a film
about Hannah Arendt.

"No way, don't even think about it.

I can't make a film
about a philosopher! How would I?"

"Yeah, I don't really know either,

but I can tell you why you
are the right person to do it,

because she's
the second-most important woman

that we have... in German politics".

But, if an idea gets into my head,

it starts to take on
a life of its own.

"Perfect! Because she lived
half her life

in America,
you can't do it without me!

WRITER

I won't let you!" And she said,
"Yeah, but...

You know, we have nothing.
It's just an idea".

So, I had Martin Wiebel
on the one side, her on the other,

and I was in the middle,
like some sort of sandwich.

They were talking,
and it started to get to me,

so then we all started
to brainstorm.

And that was where
this eight-year adventure began.

She had a very interesting way
of teaching me

how to check yourself.
So, we were sitting in a cafe,

and I said,
"OK. What do you mean?"

She said, "We've been working
on this script for years.

We think we have a finished draft.
Tell me the script".

And I said...

"OK ... I'll try",

I said, "But if I can't
remember something,

then you have to see
if you can remember it".

"If you come to a place
that you can't remember

what the next scene is,
there's a reason",

she said. "That's where you have
a problem,

because, if you can't make
the transition from memory,

something essential is missing.

You either have a scene
you don't need

and that's why you can't
remember it,

or you have a scene
that's in the wrong place

because it's not flowing naturally
from the scene before".

Control yourself!

Please, there's no way you can
write that for the New Yorker!

The public prosecutor responds
to Hannah Arendt's

bizarre defence of Eichmann.

D*mn you to hell, you Nazi whore.

And then to call
this murderer a clown

- who had no free will.
- She called him normal!

And this is the phenomenon

that I call "the banality

of evil".

We have this competition.

And we did...
I thought we did incredibly well,

I think we got like 80
of the 90 scenes.

Here, you can see we had
to cover both sides.

And here,
we have "evil", "superbia".

I had to start at one...

and I've kept this napkin.

And I will never... It's one
of my favourite possessions

because it reminds me

that this is a trick
for any screenwriter.

It always works.

First, you've got to read
so much material.

You've really got to know your
stuff, you can't just sit down

and start writing.
First, you need to know

what she thought, how she lived,
how'd she get there,

why'd she go to America,
what was she doing during...

the Second World War and so on.

Thinking does not lead to knowledge

like the sciences.

It really was a journey
to figure out

what part of her life

would express Hannah Arendt.

Do you believe that someone
who swore the oath of allegiance

to Hitler was freed

of that oath after Hitler's death?

After Hitler's death,
obviously, anyone who swore it

is automatically freed of it.

Pam was really excited about it,

and it was her idea
to limit ourselves to four years.

That's when I really jumped in.
"We can do that", I thought.

Especially including some scenes
from documentary footage,

you get the feeling
that you're seeing him,

and she's seeing him,
and she observed him so closely.

With that, I could show
how her thinking began

in her mind...

and how it went from there.

That was when I could show her
actually thinking.

When you think of the scenes
where Barbara Sukowa is thinking,

and the scenes where nobody
is speaking...

These are the scenes that are
the most powerful.

The question became: What period

of Hannah Arendt's eventful life
would best express the woman?

And what best expressed the woman

was the condition of exile.

And Margarethe could relate to this
in a very, very deep way

because she was herself stateless
for a very long time.

So, the condition
of Hanna Arendt's statelessness

was something that really gripped
Margarethe's heart and soul.

I still identify as a stateless
or formerly stateless person,

and I identify with people

who are looking for...

protection somewhere.

On 18 April, I handed her a document

that confirmed
she has always been from Palermo.

She's always been from here
because Margarethe von Trotta

shares the vision of my city,

she shares my vision.

She shares the urgency
and the importance

of placing people's humanity
at the centre.

A new humanism.

I think the dominant element

in Margarethe von Trotta's films...

is the attention

and incredibly artistic sensitivity

she pays to contradictions,

especially the contradictions
of women.

In some ways, I think that Palermo

is the ideal city

for those contradictions
that characterise

the works of Margarethe von Trotta.

Pina Mandolfo put together
a retrospective about me

with the Goethe Institute
in Palermo.

I can show you this wonderful poster
that was made for it.

It's called The Women of Margarethe,

and I thought that was

a wonderful title.
Here I am, in the middle.

That's Barbara Sukowa,
Katja Riemann,

Angela Winkler and Jutta Lampe.

My women from my films

and my friends, all of them.

THE WOMEN OF MARGARETHE
A RETROSPECTIVE DEDICATED TO

MARGARETHE VON TROTTA

That was when we asked the mayor,

and he was more than happy

and willing

to grant honorary citizenship
to Margarethe.

When Margarethe von Trotta
came to Palermo,

she was invited by a committee

called "More Women, More Palermo".

So, that was why

our first encounter
was absolutely spectacular,

and it was then followed
by a retrospective

of the most important films

made by Margarethe von Trotta.

Here it is!
This is the medal I received

from Leoluca Orlando.

I think it's really beautiful
because not every award

you receive is beautiful.

But this one is really pretty. Look.

The women asked me beforehand...

if I couldn't somehow help them
get a women's shelter built.

And, at one point, she told him.

She turned towards the mayor,
and told him,

"Let's end this wonderful ceremony
with a personal request

that I am making now,

now that I'm a citizen of Palermo...

I'd like for this city and its women
to have...

a women's shelter.

Yes, she insisted
that we create a house,

and, indeed, the house was built

in the end

for all of Palermo's
Mediterranean communities.

He said, "I see

I've gone from the frying pan
to the fire with you".

But they got their women's shelter
two years later.

FOR WORLD PEACE, FOR PROGRESS
OF THE PEOPLE AND WOMEN'S FREEDOM

8 MARCH
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

And, after a few months,

city hall informed us

that they...

had approved
for the shelter to be built.

In the end,
when you watch one of her films,

when you meet her
in all her simplicity...

what I feel

and what we all feel

is how great of a privilege it is

to be women.

We threw a big party

to inaugurate

the shelter,
and she came to join us

for the celebration.

They invited me to come
to thank me,

and they threw
this big party for me.

You can see in the photos,
we had...

lots of fun together,
and then, suddenly, one woman

stood up, then another and another,
and each of them had the name

of one of my characters
from my films.

I am Hannah Arendt!

I am Rosa Luxemburg!

I am Christa Klages!

I am Hildegard von Bingen.

I was so surprised,
and it was such

a tremendous gesture on their part.
It was a fantastic idea

but it was Pina Mandolfo
who had come up with it.

These great characters

and recounting their strength
and their energy

and their desire
to change the world.

The question of whether
God exists or not

kept me busy, of course.

Is there a God? Does he exist?
Can we actually

create a connection with him?
And my documentary film

picks up from there.
It wasn't "Is there a God or not?"

anymore, but I instead
sort of clarified

the question for myself,
let's put it that way.

But still today, I think

of Bergman, even though...

I make my own films now.
Somehow, this memory of him...

always comes to my mind again,
and: How did he do it?

What would he do?

You don't necessarily
have to make films

to sense that Margarethe von Trotta

is a role model, as a woman

and as a politically-minded woman.

I really hope that people

realise the treasure they have...

ACTRESS

in her.

Women over 50 only make up 3 %

of fictional programming.

Only three!
Can you imagine? That means

our stories
aren't being told anymore.

If I take that to heart,
I only have six more years to work.

That's what the statistics say.

But someone like Margarethe tells me

that I can still work for 40 years,
and that's a lot nicer.

I could've done that too.

That's better, right?
Hey, leave it open!

You shouldn't
even be in here, period.

It's better.

I'll check to see if I've got any.

No, me neither.

Thank God, I saw them beforehand!

What they looked like,
but I'm not allowed to look back.

But you're nice to speak with.

Does nobody else have a question?

You have what you need, or...
OK, because it was...

Thanks!

Thank you! Dankeschön!

OK. That's the end, love.

Subtitles by Giuseppe Ilisco