Austria 2022, 100 min, German, Hebrew & English subtitles
120 years after it was published, Josefine Mutzenbacher’s erotic memoir still evokes a lot of embarrassment and discomfort, perhaps even more so now than when it was written. Director Ruth Beckermann invited men aged 16 to 99 to audition for her by reading excerpts from the infamous pornographic text (attributed to the author of Bambi!) in front of a camera. Hundreds of men answered the casting call. Not all of them felt comfortable sitting on the velvet couch and reading from a book that had been banned for years. They squirm, falter, apologize. Others enthusiastically show their theatrical ability, confess to sexual fantasies, or share childhood memories. Their amusing-but-sticky conversations with the filmmaker and among themselves paint a multilayered, multigenerational portrait of male sexuality.
Previous Festivals: Berlinale, CPH:DOX, Cinema Du Reel
Arts and Culture Award Winners Female Masters Gender International Films Literature Masters The Cinematic Edge Women Directors