Third round at UCR for Jessica Hausner
- The Austrian director is heading back to Cannes with Amour fou, in the Un Certain Regard section
At 42 years old, Austrian director Jessica Hausner has been invited to take part in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes International Film Festival for the third time, where she presented Lovely Rita [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2001 and the chilling Hotel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2004. This time, the Viennese filmmaker is back to ascend the steps of the Salle Debussy with Amour fou [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], her fourth feature film (five years after her last project, Lourdes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Hausner
film profile], which was filmed in French and starred Sylvie Testud and Léa Seydoux).
Amour fou – scripted, as always, by Hausner herself – is based on the life and double suicide of German author Heinrich von Kleist and his partner in death, Henriette Vogel. However, it is presented not so much as a biopic, but rather as a parable about the ambivalence of love. The lead role has been entrusted to Christian Friedel (who adroitly played the schoolteacher in Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Haneke
film profile]), and Henriette is played by Birte Schnoink. These two actors also feed the lines to Stephan Grossmann, Sandra Hüller and Peter Jordan.
The film was produced by Vienna-based company coop99, of which Jessica Hausner was one of the founders, together with Amour Fou Luxembourg and Essential Filmproduktion (Germany). Amour fou had backing from the Austrian Film Institute, FISA (Film Location Austria), Austrian broadcasting organisation ORF, the Vienna Film Fund and the Lower Austria region. International sales are handled by The Coproduction Office.
(Translated from French)