Madonnas

by Maria Speth

Madonnas

Synopsis

After being neglected as a child, Rita gives birth to six children of her own and challenges her mother in forcing her to act as a parent to her grandchildren.

Rita flees to Belgium with her baby because she is wanted for theft and other offences in Germany. She sets out in search of her natural father whom she has never met. But he has a wife and children. Rita's sudden appearance causes complications in the family. She is eventually arrested by the Belgian police and deported to Germany where she serves a lengthy prison sentence.
During this time, Rita's four other children live with Rita's mother Isabella. She runs a restaurant and has little time for the children. Fanny, the eldest, has to look after her siblings.

After Rita is released from prison, she takes her children back again - against the wishes of her mother Isabella. With the help of Marc - an American soldier stationed in Germany - an almost normal family life develops. But Rita doesn't trust Marc's feelings. They don't fit into the pattern of her previous experiences. Rita resumes her former lifestyle. She sees other men and pilfers with a girlfriend. When Marc announces he is to be posted back in the USA, Rita's life is thrown off balance.

Director

Maria Speth was born in 1967 and studied at the "Konrad Wolf" Academy of Film and Television in Babelsberg. She has worked since 1991 as an editing and directing assistant on various films and TV programs. Her films as a writer/director include: »Mittwoch« (short, 1995), »Barfuss« (short, 1999) winner of the 3sat Award at Oberhausen 1999, her feature debut the days between (»In den Tag hinein«, 2001) which won the VPRO Tiger Award at Rotterdam, the Grand Prix du Jury at Créteil, and the MFG Star 2001, and »Madonnas« (Madonnen, 2007).

Cast

Sandra Hüller - Rita
Luisa Sappelt - Fanny
Coleman Orlando Swinton - Marc
Susanne Lothar - Isabella
In The Role Of "Jerome Vassé" - Olivier Gourmet

Crew

Directed by Maria Speth
Written by Maria Speth
Producer: Christoph Friedel
Executive Producer: Claudia Steffen
Co-producers: Pascal Trächslin / Jean-Pierre / Luc Dardenne / Olivier Bronckart
Commissioning Editor SF:
Susann Wach
Commissioning Editor ZDF: Claudia Tronnier
Director Of Photography: Reinhold Vorschneider
Editors: Dietmar Kraus, Ludoo Troch, Maria Speth
Casting: Nina Haun
A production of Pandora Film Produktion
In co-production with CineWorx Film, Les Films Du Fleuve, ZDF "Das Kleine Fernsehspiel", Schweizer Fernsehen
Supported by Hessen-Invest Film, Eurimages, Filmstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, BKM, Filmförderungsanstalt, Centre Du Cinema Et Del'audiovisuel De La Communaute Française De Belgique Et Des Teledistributeurs Wallons, Hessisches Ministerium Für Wissenschaft Und Kunst, Hessische Filmförderung, Media Programme Of The European Community

Technical Data

Format: 35 mm / 24fps / 1:1.85 / Colour / Dolby Digital
Length: 125 Mins
Original Language: German, French, English

Original title: Madonnas

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Madonnas
Madonnas

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