At the 74th Locarno International Film Festival, the German-Iranian filmmaker Sabrina Sarabi made a big impression on the film world with her adaptation of the novel “Nobody is with the calves”.
Locarno – Until Saturday, the 74th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival will show 209 short, feature and documentary films on the Swiss shores of Lake Maggiore.
In the competition of the section “Cineasti del presente” (“Filmmakers of the Present”), the German novel “Nobody is with the calves” is one of the favorites at halftime. A conversation with the author and director Sabrina Sarabi.
Question: Sabrina Sarabi, what attracted you, as a West German city dweller, to making a film about a young woman, Christian, in the countryside in what was once East Germany?
Answer: For my second film, I was explicitly looking for something that I didn’t know. I was also afraid of the former East. One of my ideas was that there were a lot of Nazis walking around there. It appealed to me to explore what it really is like.
Question: What did you find out?
Answer: That the Nazis really exist. But not just them. You meet a lot of great people. And, unlike in the city, there is a stronger neighborhood that goes beyond the fleeting greeting in the stairwell. One is there for one another. The downside is that everyone wants to know everything. Sometimes you feel a little too closely watched.
Question: How do you describe your general cinematic topic?
Answer: I like to look deep into the psyche of the characters. It is exciting to find out what the environment does to a person. I believe that many people like Christin have the problem of not being able to make decisions, that they cannot get out of deadlocked relationships for years because they cannot make up their minds. The reasons for this are varied and often lie in the people’s surroundings.
Question: The reception of the film at the festival was extremely good, very warm-hearted. How did you experience presenting your film here in Locarno?
Answer: It feels like the next big step in my job for me. That is very nice. The attention here is great, as is the great cinema history with which the festival is associated. But of course I was very nervous to have the world premiere here.
Question: There is little talk in your film. Above all, the pictures speak. Is that the most important thing about cinema for you?
Answer: It depends on the characters in question. But I really like to talk about looks and gestures. Very often people don’t say what they think and feel. And I want to tell you that through pictures.
Question: Saskia Rosendahl, known from films such as “Werk ohne Autor” and most recently “Fabian or The Walk to the Dogs”, plays the main role in your film “Nobody is with the calves”. She already starred in your debut feature film “Prelude”. Did you develop a working friendship?
The German-Iranian
The German-Iranian author Sabrina Sarabi, born in 1982, was born in Kassel and later studied theater and film studies at the University of Utrecht and directing and screenwriting at the Art Academy for Media in Cologne. She lives in Berlin. With her debut feature film “Prélude” she achieved a great success at the Munich Film Festival in 2019. “Nobody is with the calves” is her second feature film.
Answer: I was very impressed with her on “Prelude”. I really wanted to work with her again. When I read the novel, I had them right in front of my eyes. She has impressive sovereignty and great expressiveness. She makes boredom interesting.
Question: How has the corona pandemic affected your creativity?
Answer: I think about a lot more about how our world works, how it was before, how it will develop. dpa
