LOOKING INTO THE SUN: Four women, a farm and the shadows of the past”

LOOKING INTO THE SUN: Four women, a farm and the shadows of the past”

There's a lot going on in Bad Hersfeld these days because the film “LOOK INTO THE SUN” by Mascha Schilinski is celebrating its premiere. This epoch-spanning film takes viewers on a touching journey through the emotional worlds of four women who live on a remote four-sided farm in the Altmark - a place that has been a home for different generations for over a century. The protagonists Alma, Erika, Angelika and Nelly live their childhood and youth in different decades and discover the burdensome traces of the past that are deeply rooted in their being.

As Cineplex reports, each of these women brings personal challenges and fears to the fore in their own way. Alma, growing up in the 1910s, discovers that she was named after her late sister and is afraid of sharing her tragic fate. Erika in the 1940s develops a dangerous fascination for her seriously injured uncle, while Angelika in the 1980s balances between a lust for life and a longing for death. The 2020 Nelly, on the other hand, lives in apparent security, but is haunted by intense dreams and the burden of the past. The film vividly deals with how a tragic event repeats itself across generations and the boundaries between past and present are dissolved.

A look at generations

The film's background fits nicely into the current debate about generations in film studies. Issue 73 of Women and Film deals with this topic in detail and opens up exciting perspectives. The term “generation” is examined there in comparison to firmly established categories such as “class” or “gender” and shows how intergenerational exchange can be shaped in film art. The focus is on parental relationships, shared struggles and the longing for feminist role models. The contributions it contains are both documentary and essay-like and offer deeper insights into feminist discourses across generations.

Particular attention is paid to the interactions between different age cohorts, as well as to the experiences that today's youth have in the shadow of the past of older generations. With a single price of 25 euros, the magazine is not only a valuable contribution to the current debate, but also an important document that brings together the voices of various authors such as Ute Aurand and Gaby Babić.

A meeting of film and feminist practice

“LOOKING INTO THE SUN” opens a dialogue across generations that is often lost sight of in the contemporary film landscape. Mascha Schilinski's film, which is being presented in Bad Hersfeld, can be seen as an example of how women's personal stories are told across eras and how linking memories opens up different perspectives on the present. In addition, the debate about feminine representation in film, initiated by publications such as Frauen und Film, brings a breath of fresh air to the cinema program.

Bad Hersfeld is not only a place for cinematic enjoyment, but also a space where stories come to life and generations enter into a festive exchange. So if you are interested in exploring female identity and the complex interweaving of history, you should not miss this film!