Fitness and Despair is the working title of Moritz Geiser’s new drama film, which boasts an experimental edge. The film is the German director’s graduation piece from the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie (DFFB) in Berlin. Shooting took place in the German city over the course of 25 days between February and March this year. Post-production is under way.

Geiser is the writer and director of this so-called “genre-blending” love story. At its core are Berlin-based local politicians Wanda and Faraz, who, in their long-term relationship, constantly try to strike a balance in their recurrent “troublesome small-scale negotiations in love and democracy”. The official synopsis goes on: “But what happens to a contemporary, egalitarian relationship when one partner’s career is taking off while the other’s is not? Can love as a communist island, essentially unselfish and irrational, survive in a free-market environment based on self-interest and economic rationality?”

Fitness and Despair is also the graduation film for Daria Wichmann, who studies production at the DFFB. She is getting support from producer Margarita Amineva-Jester, who is an alumna of the DFFB herself and founded her own company, Voices Films, in 2022. “Voices Films supports emerging artists on their journey to creating thought-provoking, universally relevant and aesthetically valuable, auteur-driven films, both fiction and documentaries. The main focus of Voices Films is on high-quality co-productions in Germany with international voices, including filmmakers from post-Soviet countries,” says the website of the young firm. Several feature-length films, as well as a series, are in development at present.

Behind the camera, director Geiser is supported by Hannes Schulze (Slackers [+lire aussi :
critique
fiche film]), responsible for the cinematography; Javier Irazuzta (who collaborated on Wes Anderson’s recent film The Phoenician Scheme [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]), for the set design; and Svenja Gassen (Talking About the Weather [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Annika Pinske
fiche film], The Massacre of Anröchte, Toubab [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]), for the costumes. The cast includes up-and-coming talents such as Sarah Gailer, currently starring in the TV series Jugend, alongside co-actors Julian Sark, Sahba Sahebi, Lisa Hrdina (The Countess [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Anna Maria Mühe
fiche film]) and Samuel Simon. Flanking them are two more experienced German actresses: Doina Weber (The Last Dance [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]) and Eva Löbau (The Diaries of Adam and Eve, Greetings from Mars [+lire aussi :
interview : Sarah Winkenstette
fiche film], The Teachers’ Lounge [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : İlker Çatak
interview : Leonie Benesch
fiche film], The Chairs Game [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film]).

Fitness and Despair is a production by the DFFB in co-production with Voices Films. It was supported through the Leuchtstoff programme for newcomers, and was funded by Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg and TV channel RBB. The release is planned for 2026/2027, although the movie has no distributor attached as yet.

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