Arlette – Mut ist ein Muskel
Katharina Diessner (DoP)
Arlette is a 15-year-old girl from the Central African Republic all too familiar with the horrors of war. A support group enables her to get medical treatment in Berlin. While war flares up once again back in her native country, she faces the challenge of being unable to make herself understood in an unfamiliar culture. She remains in Berlin not knowing when she will leave, discovering a totally new environment, experiencing fluctuating emotions.
Jury comment on decision:
»Arlette‘s strong presence on screen gives us a real sense of her journey of inner self-development, from early loneliness, fear, sadness and fragility in the hospital, via her feelings of desperation in strange surroundings through to gradually increased strength and a growing familiarity. The camera refuses to budge, doesn’t look away, remaining stubbornly fixed on what is happening without being voyeuristic. Despite being confined in restricted space, the camera maintains a pleasant distance that opens up the space rather than making it close in on us. The camera’s actions
let you feel what Katharina Diessner wants you to: pure admiration for Arlette.«
Awards for Arlette – Mut ist ein Muskel
Schüler-Filmpreis 16+ – Kinofest Lünen 2015
Katharina Diessner (DoP)
Born 1978, Diessner first studied ethnology at the Freie Universität Berlin, and then later from 2007 to 2015 film at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin (dffb). While studying she was responsible for the camerawork on a host of shorts, documentary films and feature films. The film When Suddenly the East Lies in the West (Director: Ki Bun) won several international awards in 2012/13. The documentary film De Corpore Mortis – The Body of this Death directed by Rudolf Domke was selected for the Munich Film Festival as well as the Duisburg Film Week. Diessner lives in Berlin.
Films by Katharina Diessner
De Corpore Mortis – Dem Leibe dieses Todes 2015 | Das goldene Band 2012 | Wenn der Osten plötzlich im Westen liegt 2011 | Die Nacht im Auto 2009 | Fata Morgana 2009 | Reinhardtstrasse 2009