Opening this film are the machines. The ceaseless, repetitive movements of rollers, levers and mechanical parts. Materials being mixed and shaped, eventually recognisable as lipsticks. Archival footage from the industrial production of what we call beauty products, later interspersed with dough being kneaded and needles being inserted into skin. Then suddenly the wheels stop turning and a quiet voice begins: »One morning I realised I hadn’t made love for three months.« Three months eventually turn into four years.
The voice belongs to French actress Julia Faure. Her statement is provocative and pragmatic, angry and insightful all in one. She no longer wants to sleep with men, she says, because everything argues against it. Years of dissatisfaction, lack of fulfilment, physical strain, potential violence – for what? The text, which dances and wrestles with the images of the film, giving them new meaning, is by the former porn actress and author Ovidie. Gabrielle Stemmer combines it with images from archives, television programmes and private recordings, without placing it in a historical context. On the contrary, it is this collage itself that creates such a cool detachment that the ongoing battles of female bodies under a patriarchal system are no longer perceived as self-pitying, but as self-empowering and consistently connected to their history.

Guest: Gabrielle Stemmer

German premiere