German director Anna Roller is one of the seven participants in this year's Face to Face campaign, run by German Films (see the news). She is also presenting her new feature, Allegro Pastell [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Anna Roller
scheda film], at the Berlinale, in the Panorama section. We talked to her about her characters, aesthetic vision and casting process.

Cineuropa: Considering your works so far – such as your short Brat, your feature Dead Girls Dancing [+leggi anche:
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trailer
intervista: Katarina Stark
scheda film] and now Allegro Pastell – what really stands out is your fascination with the relationships between friends, families and couples. What makes you want to dig into this topic?
Anna Roller: For me, it always starts with female characters that make decisions which are initially hard to understand. My interest in them comes first, and the surrounding environment follows on from that. Their decisions can be shown best through the network of relationships they are embedded in.

How did the Allegro Pastell journey begin?
Allegro Pastell is based on a novel; there was already a script, and the producers were looking for a director. I read the screenplay and found it very interesting how this female character initially comes across as rather unsympathetic, yet very precisely written. While reading, I felt there wasn’t a screenwriter thinking in terms of plot – not “What is her big wound and how do I construct her?” – but rather, someone who knew this character extremely well and didn’t explain her. She’s simply placed there, and you’re exposed to her decisions. I found that fascinating – that someone had imagined a character so clearly and knew her so well.

Besides the protagonist, the film revolves around a whole ensemble of characters, all of whom get their time to shine. Was it difficult to do justice to each of them?
It felt very natural. From the beginning, it was clear that both main characters would have a voice-over. Both voices needed to be present because the core of their relationship initially functions through language – through the letters and emails they write to each other. Even when they no longer have contact with each other, these emails continue as thoughts, as voices that carry through the film. And of course, they’re embedded in a dense network of relationships: she sleeps with someone her friend is interested in, which raises moral questions about what betrayal actually means. Jerome, in turn, meets a woman who will become the mother of his child – someone who will ultimately play a larger role in his life than the protagonist we’re watching. But the film shows only a fragment of their lives. This relationship will remain a great love in their memories, and therefore, the spotlight is placed on it. What I like is that the characters reveal very little about themselves; they’re not easily readable or fully explained. This ensemble also helps portray a specific time and a certain generation.

How did you cast the two main roles?
We crossed a boundary by casting Sylvaine Faligant, a French actress, but I found her coolness very compelling – it’s something that’s also very present in the novel. At the same time, I always feel there’s something behind it: a tenderness or an intense inner life she can’t express outwardly. Jannis Niewöhner, who plays Jerome, was also very keen on the role, and in the constellation casting, there was a real spark between them.

The film is set in different cities. Which elements of these settings were important to you?
The contrast is very obvious. Tanja lives in the big city, Berlin, while Jerome lives in his parents’ bungalow on the outskirts of Frankfurt, with a strong connection to nature and a kind of suburban simplicity that he experiences as a lifestyle. He lives very minimalistically as a designer and jogs every day while enjoying a view of Frankfurt’s skyline – that’s Jerome’s world. Tanja, on the other hand, lives in a modern flat in the heart of Berlin, very much in a cultural, artistic bubble. Even though the film doesn’t foreground landmarks, you can still feel that they inhabit slightly different worlds.

Visually, your films often feel almost documentary-like. How would you describe your aesthetic vision?
I’ve been working with the same cinematographer, Felix Pflieger, for about six films now. We try to find a subtly distinct visual language for each project. In Brat, we used a lot of Steadicam – staying flexible and close to a constantly moving character. Dead Girls Dancing was entirely handheld, to be more emotionally immersed. The idea was that the camera itself would be another girl in the group. In Allegro Pastell, by contrast, we were much more static. The novel’s language is cool, distant and analytical, so we didn’t want the camera to be too emotional or close. There are shots through glass, or where the character feels framed and constrained – the camera is simply less free.

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