STELLA. A LIFE. starring Paula Beer will celebrate its world premiere at the 19th Zurich Film Festival (September 28- October 8) in the “Gala Premieres” section. In this section, the festival presents the most anticipated highlights of film d’auteur every year.

It tells the story of a young woman who dreams of a bright career as a swing singer on Broadway, longing for happiness and recognition. But Stella is Jewish and lives in Nazi Berlin. After she is forced to go into hiding with her parents, she joins a counterfeiting group to save her life and that of her parents. When the Nazis arrest her, her life changes from that of a victim to that of a perpetrator. The feature film is inspired by the true life story of Stella Goldschlag and was directed by the award-winning director Kilian Riedhof, among others BAFTA-nominated. Together with the two authors Jan Braren and Marc Blöbaum, Kilian Riedhof is also responsible for the screenplay. The German Film Award winner Benedict Neuenfels (‘Ich bin dein Mensch’) was responsible for the visual design. Partner of the first hour is SevenPictures Film (Stefan Gärtner). Majestic Filmverleih will release the film in cinemas nationwide on January 18, 2024. Global Screen has taken over world distribution.

“The film tells a breathtaking story, of frighteningly high topicality. It is about mechanisms of dictatorships, of indoctrination and violence. Through this story we demonstrate how people are abused and broken by a perverted system. Above all, there is the crucial question: what would I have done to save my life?”, says Michael Lehmann, Producer and Chairman Managing Director of Studio Hamburg Production Group. “My biggest thanks go to our leading actress Paula Beer, who did a great job in this insanely grueling shoot. She has courageously interpreted this demanding role of Stella, for which she deserves our greatest respect.”

“The starting point of the long journey was the excellent collaboration with our writers Kilian Riedhof, Marc Blöbaum and Jan Braren. They succeeded in transforming the complexity of the character, her individual story and the resulting tragedy into a gripping script and a touching film,” explains producer Katrin Goetter. Ira Wysocki, who completes the producer team, adds, “STELLA. EIN LEBEN. is our highest budgeted film, with highly complex shooting in Berlin, NRW, Bavaria, Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as Austria. We would like to thank all the funding – especially our main supporter Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg – who strongly supported us in these difficult times of the pandemic.”

Editorial: Letterbox GmbH (DE)