Munich-based sales outfit The Playmaker has acquired world rights to Irene von Alberti’s latest feature, The Protected Men [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]. The news was first reported by Variety.

Based on Robert Merle’s 1974 novel The Virility Factor and penned by von Alberti herself, the picture is a satirical thriller set in Germany, at a time when a mysterious disease afflicting only men strikes, leading to a women-led government takeover. A group of scientists, the “protected men”, are tasked with developing a vaccine. However, the self-proclaimed chancellor, Sarah Bedford, secretly sabotages the vaccine efforts in a bid to stay in power. Her best friend Anita Martinelli has a decision to make: can she stop the repressive government’s plans before it’s too late?

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Von Alberti’s previous credits include Paul Bowles – Halfmoon (co-directed with Frieder Schlaich in 1995), the omnibus film Berlin Stories (2005), her debut feature, Tangerine (2008), and The Long Summer of Theory (2017). Moreover, she has served as a producer on projects helmed by the likes of Robert Schwentke, Heinz Emigholz, Omer Fast, Elfi Mikesch and Monika Treut.

The main cast is made up of Britta Hammelstein, Mavie Hörbiger, Yousef Sweid, Bibiana Beglau, Godehard Giese, Julika Jenkins, Michaela Caspar, Johanna Polley, Sina Martens, Ruby Commey, Bastian Reiber, Timo Fakhravar, Roland Bonjour and Mathias Max.

Commenting on the feature, Frieder Schlaich (here serving as the producer) said: “Although the novel The Virility Factor is nearly half a century old, it remains a magnificent source to spur on the debate regarding gender roles. This whimsical and boisterous story fits perfectly into that discourse: how would the world be without men? The movie The Protected Men is a relentless farce that works through the eventuality of men vanishing from the Earth. Topical and told from a female perspective, it features hairy men unable to control their sexual urges, incorruptible women’s libbers, castrated yes-men, testosterone-ingesting dominatrices, corrupt politicians and uniformed lesbian Amazons on horseback. And as extravagant as the characters are, they all contain a kernel of truth.”

The Protected Men was produced by Germany’s Filmgalerie451 (co-founded by von Alberti herself), which is also in charge of its domestic distribution. The Playmaker team will introduce the film to potential buyers at the German Film Previews (unspooling this year from 3-6 July), offering them an exclusive first look.

Furthermore, the feature will celebrate its world premiere at the imminent Munich Film Festival (28 June-7 July). The gathering’s catalogue bills it as “a biting political satire about power, oppression and sexual stereotypes”.