All I Never Wanted
© Mateusz Smolka
Sunday, November 17, 12 pm
Germany/Italy, 2019, 89 min., Director: Leonie Stade, Annika Blendl, Screenplay: Leonie Stade, Annika Blendl, Oliver Kahl, Cast: Mareile Blendl, Lida Freudenreich, Annika Blendl, Leonie Stade
Festivals/Prizes:
- 87th Munich Film Festival (Official Competition), 2019
- 15th Festival of German Films (Official Selection), 2019
Leonie and Annika are aspiring documentarians eager to be recognized as skilled filmmakers. When a wealthy man with questionable motives offers them 100 thousand Euro to finance their project, they set out to follow the lives of two very different women, hoping to capture their success stories. Nina, a 17-year-old model from the suburbs of Stuttgart, leaves for Milan shortly before her high school graduation to pursue her career. Meanwhile, 42-year-old television star Mareile must reassess her career after her character is killed off and replaced with a younger actress. But the success stories don’t turn out as hoped: Nina realizes the extent to which the fashion world pushes her to the limits of her values, and Mareile’s foray into community-theater proves difficult when her new cast mates and director prove hostile. Meanwhile, filmmakers Leonie and Annika fight to be taken seriously as artists in a sexist industry – all while making sure their film doesn’t fall apart. All four women must decide what they are prepared to sacrifice to assert their places in a modern media industry.
Annika Blendl (1982) and Leonie Stade (1988) are freelance authors, directors, and producers. After graduation in 2007, Leonie Stade traveled the world and worked as a model in Milan and Paris. Annika Blendl has been working as a film and television actress since 2001, and went to the Schauspielhaus Zürich in 2004. The director duo got to know each other in 2009 at the University of Television and Film Munich. Both studied documentary direction and production. In 2018, they founded the Man on Mars film production company, along with their colleague Michael Schmitt. Their first joint film, Nowhereman, ran in competition at the Max Ophüls Filmfest, while their second joint film, Mollath – Suddenly Lunatic was released in 2015 in German cinemas after its premiere at the Munich Film Festival. All I Never Wanted is the pair’s feature film debut.
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