Rose
by Markus Schleinzer
Amidst the turmoil of the Thirty Years´ War, somewhere in Germany, a mysterious soldier appears in a secluded Protestant village. Small and quiet, his face disfigured by a scar, this stranger declares himself the heir of a long-abandoned farmstead and produces a document to support his claim to the suspicious villagers. With time, he overcomes their doubts and shows himself to be a hard-working, God-fearing man, becoming part of the community in a quest for acceptance made up of impossible deceit. 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 comitted many a wicked deed.
Markus Schleinzer, born in Vienna, spent 17 years as a casting director shaping the international success of Austrian cinema through his close collaborations with Jessica Hausner, Ulrich Seidl, and Michael Haneke.
For the Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated film The White Ribbon, he was responsible not only for casting the child actors but also for directing their performances on set.
His two debut feature films, Michael (2011) and Angelo (2018), premiered and won awards in the main competitions at the Cannes, Toronto, London, Mumbai, and Japan film festivals, among others.
Schleinzer also works as an actor and teaches directing, currently at the Film Academy in Ludwigsburg.
Selected Director’s Filmography:
2018 ANGELO
2011 MICHAEL
Sandra Hüller
as Rose
Caro Braun
as Suzanna
Marisa Growaldt
as Narrator
Robert Gwisdek
as The Bailiff
Godehard Giese
as The Head Farmer
Director: Markus Schleinzer
Screenplay: Markus Schleinzer,
Alexander Brom
Cinematography: Gerald Kerkletz
Editing: Hansjörg Weißbrich
Production Design: Olivier Meidinger
Music: Tara Nome Doyle
Costumes: Doris Bartelt
Make-Up: Anette Keiser
Sound Design: Manuel Grandpierre
Casting: Katrin Vorderwülbecke, Markus Schleinzer, Carmen Loley
Producer: Johannes Schubert, Philipp Worm, Tobias Walker, Karsten Stöter
Original title: ROSE
International title: ROSE
Duration: 93 min
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Format: DCP
Sound: 5.1
Year: 2026
Original language: German
Countries of production: Austria / Germany
Production Companies: Schubert, ROW Pictures, Walker + Worm Film
Co-production Companies: ORF, ZDF, ARTE
With the support of: Österreichisches Filminstitut, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Filmfonds Wien, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Eurimages, Filmförderungsanstalt, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Filmförderung Niederösterreich, Deutscher Filmförderfonds, ÖFI+