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The opening film of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN: Vicky Krieps gives an outstanding performance as an Austrian empress in search of emancipation.
Christmas 1877: It’s Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s 40th birthday. In her representative role at the side of her husband, Emperor Franz Josef, she’s not allowed to express any opinions; instead, she must forever remain a beautiful young empress. To meet this expectation, she adheres to a rigid plan of starvation, exercise, hairdressing, and daily measurements of her waist. But Elisabeth is an inquisitive woman thirsting to experience life, who increasingly comes to resist her unrealistic image and grows tired of being corseted by palace life.
Meet the director
Marie Kreutzer
Born in Graz, Austria, in 1977, Marie Kreutzer studied screenwriting at the Film Academy Vienna. Her first feature film, THE FATHERLESS, celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale in 2011. Her second feature, GRUBER IS LEAVING (2015), was nominated for the Austrian Film Award and received an honorable mention at the Zurich Film Festival. Her third feature film, WE USED TO BE COOL, premiered in competition at the Zurich Film Festival in 2016, while THE GROUND BENEATH MY FEET celebrated its world premiere in 2019 in competition at the Berlinale. The Biberacher Filmfestspiele have honored two of her TV movies, DIE NOTLÜGE (2017) and the rural thriller VIER (2021), with a “Fernsehbiber” for best TV movie.