• THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS

    THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS



THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS

by Vadim Jendreyko

THE WOMAN WITH THE FIVE ELEPHANTS

Germany | 2009 | 93:00 min

Content Categories

Documentary
Synopsis
Swetlana Geier is considered the greatest translator of Russian literature into German. She has just concluded her lifework for Zurich’s Ammann publishing house - completing new translations Dostoyevsky’s five great novels - known as the five elephants. Her work is characterised by a great and sensual feeling for language and an uncompromising respect for the writers she translates. Her life has been overshadowed by Europe’s varied history.

Together with the film director, the eighty-five-year old woman is making her first trip from her chosen home in Germany back to the places of her childhood in the Ukraine.
The film interweaves the story of Swetlana Geier’s life with her literary work and traces the secret of this inexhaustibly hard-working woman. It tells of great suffering, silent helpers and unhoped-for chances – and a love of language that outshines all else.


Distribution Switzerland
Cineworx
Clarastr. 48
4001 Basel, Switzerland
tel +41-61 261 63 70
www.cineworx.ch
Festivals/Awards
Prix SSR Idée Suisse, Prix Suisseimage
DEFA-Foerderpreis
nominated for European Film Award

Visions du Réel, Nyon, Locarno, Viennale, DOKLeipzig, Duisburg, Kassel
Cast and Crew
  • Director Vadim Jendreyko
  • Producer Hercli Bundi, Thomas Tielsch
  • Screenwriter Vadim Jendreyko
  • Director of Photography Niels-Christian Bolbrinker
  • Editor Gisela Castronari
Original Languages

German

Russian

Production Company
FILMTANK GmbH
Lippmannstr. 53, 22769 Hamburg

Phone: +49 40 4318610

Fax: +49 40 43186111

filmtank@filmtank.de
http://www.filmtank.de
Links / Reference
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