Malina by Werner Schroeter

In honour of Ingeborg Bachmann's centenary, we are delighted to present Werner Schroeter's Malina in partnership with Inclinations Film Club. The screening will be introduced by Rastko Novaković. The film will be shown in German with English subtitles.

Based on Ingeborg Bachmann's groundbreaking novel, Malina is as elusive and unstable as its unnamed protagonist, brilliantly portrayed by Isabelle Huppert. At its centre lies an enigmatic love triangle involving a successful writer (unnamed) and the two men in her life, Ivan and Malina. Yet the film constantly undermines certainty: are these men real, imagined, or simply different facets of her own identity?

As the protagonist struggles to maintain a fragile sense of order, her domestic world becomes increasingly surreal and absurd. Dreams, memories, desires and fears collide, while an ever-present sense of menace threatens to consume everything.

Best known as a cult and underground filmmaker, Werner Schroeter brings the violence, intensity and dark humour of Elfriede Jelinek's screenplay vividly to the screen. Together, Jelinek and Schroeter create a bold and deeply personal interpretation of Bachmann's work, resulting in a layered cinematic tour de force that defies categorisation.

The screening will begin with an extended introduction by Rastko Novaković, programmer at Inclinations Film Club.