WANJA by director Carolina Hellsgård to celebrate its world premiere at the 2015 Berlinale

Feature film starring Anne Ratte-Polle to be screened in the Berlinale programme Perspektive Deutsches Kino

On Saturday, February 7th, the German film WANJA by director Carolina Hellsgård will have its world premiere at the 65th International Film Festival Berlin (Berlinale) in the program Perspektive Deutsches Kino. The drama, starring Anne Ratte-Polle and Nele Trebs, tells the story of former bank robber Wanja, who is released from a long prison sentence. Alienated from society, she seeks closeness from animals instead of people. When she lands an internship at a horse race track, she meets the troubled teenager Emma. A tentative friendship between the two women develops. When Emma slips deeper into her own drug abuse, Wanja decides to rescue her.

Anne Ratte-Polle, Nele Trebs and director Carolina Hellsgård will be present at the Berlinale and are available for interviews.

Director Carolina Hellsgård: “The film depicts Wanja’s struggle to reintegrate into society and the attempts to break her own isolation. After being released from prison, Wanja's next challenge is to get out of her inner prison. In her search for personal freedom she makes choices which lead to her own downfall. Ultimately, WANJA is a personal portrait of people who have never had anything in life, and hardly exist in society.”

Wanja
After years in prison, 40-year-old Wanja (Anne Ratte-Polle) tries to get her life back on track, avoiding any situations that may lead to her slipping back into her old lifestyle of drugs and crimes. She takes up simple jobs, in which she can focus on animals instead of people, moves into a supervised flat and regularly meets her probation officer. While working at the horse racetrack Wanja meets the troubled teenager Emma (Nele Trebs), to whom she feels instantly connected. But Emma proves to be a dangerous force in Wanja’s life. Inevitably, Wanja is heading towards a downfall she has been trying to avoid from day one.

Screenings:
Saturday, 7 Feb, 14:00 hrs, CinemaxX 5 (press screening)
Saturday, 7 Feb, 19:30 hrs, CinemaxX 3 (world premiere)
Sunday, 8 Feb, 13:00 hrs, Colosseum
Sunday, 8 Feb, 20:30 hrs, CinemaxX 1
Tuesday, 10 Feb, 13:15 hrs, Marriott 1 (EFM screening)

Credits:
Directed by: Carolina Hellsgård | Producer: Johanna Aust / Flickfilm GbR / Berlin | Co-producer: Kim Neumann, Jürgen Schaum, Sebastian Wolters / Storytellers GmbH / Hamburg | Camera: Kathrin Krottenthaler | Starring: Anne Ratte-Polle und Nele Trebs
 
FLICKFILM was founded by Carolina Hellsgård and Johanna Aust in 2011 and is an independent film production company based in Berlin. Regardless if it‘s about fiction or documentary film, our focus is on authentic stories with a strong cinematic conviction, aiming for a socially engaged audience.