HELLE - a film by Justus von Daniels

Synopsis

A jump of a young woman into an old-fashioned open-air bath turns into a struggle for survival. The clear water emerges as a mysterious world. It is her courageous jump into life, which turns out to be perilous.

Director’s Comments

There is this dream, that you discover a reflecting object on the ground
of clear water. You dive and suddenly you are in a different world
which is obscure and tempting at the same time; until you realize that
here is something on the water surface which deters you from going up.
You struggle for life. And there are these open air baths which stand for the ease of the summer and the untroubled youth.

More and more of these baths are closed, only an old attendant takes still care. Sometimes a girl comes and dives courageously into the water that she doesn’t know yet. She dares to jump into life and the ease of the youth vanishes in the muddy water. It’s the brightness of the daylight,
which she may find again. This is experience. The old pool attendants of this world have seen many diving into this.

Director’s Biography

Justus von Daniels, born in 1978, studied philosophy and law in Leipzig, Budapest, Berlin and New York. He worked for the German Federal Film Board and writes as a journalist for several newspapers.

Participants

Cast

Script & Director

Producer

Camera

Additional Footage

Make-Up

Cut

Music

Color Correction

Assistant Director

Assistant Producers

Julia Laurentius, Erich Schwarz

Justus von Daniels

Laurent Kruppa

Max von Matthiessen & Francesco Domeniconi

Frank Penseler

Louisa von Halle

Guillaume Cailleau

Johannes Motschmann

Jannis Mayr

Ruben Wielsch

Florian Gradmann, Fabian Sündermann

Prädikat „besonders wertvoll“

Honored as „very valuable“ by the film rating agency in Wiesbaden:

„Jede Einstellung des Films ist poetisch überhöht und wirkt nicht real, sondern eher wie ein Traumbild. Das ist ästhetisch überzeugend gelöst, und so hat dieser Film eine ganz eigene, teils unheimliche, teils mythische Atmosphäre, die die FBW-Jurymitglieder so gefangen nahm, dass sie dem Film gerne ihr ‚Freischwimmerabzeichen‘, das Prädikat besonders wertvoll, zuerkennen.“

Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden

 
Additionally the film was honored as Shortfilm of the Month September 2008.

Festivals

plattform:[no budget] · Unabhängiges Medienfestival Tübingen 2009
Tübingen, Germany — www.plattform-nobudget.de

North Sea Film Festival for Underwater Movies 2009
Amsterdam, Netherlands — www.northseafilmfestival.com
„special mention by the jury“

13^th International Underwater Film Festival in Belgrade
Belgrade, Serbia — www.kpa.co.rs
„special mention by the jury“

36^e Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine 2009
Marseille, France — www.underwater-festival.com

Contact

Justus von Daniels

Laurent Kruppa

lionelfilm

℅ Laurent Kruppa

Weserstraße 31

D-12045 Berlin

+49-176-22058521

+49-177-3072384

helle (at) lionelfilm . de

www.lionelfilm.de