Films by Juliane Vari

Germany 2023, 92 min
by Lisa Wagner

Who says that women can't break dance? Frieda, Viola and Jilou are three of the most successful women in the male-dominated breaking world. At different points in their sports careers, the three friends are facing new challenges and life-changing decisions. DANCING HEARTBEATS accompanies the dancers during their hard training, international battles and their fight for recognition and equal rights. WithB-Girl Jilou – Jilou RasulB-Girl Frost – Frieda FrostB-Girl Viola – Viola Luise Barner

Switzerland, Germany 2022, 83 min
by Eva Vitija

The film’s narrative is based on the unpublished diaries of bestselling novelist Patricia Highsmith. Focusing on her quest for identity and her troubled love life, LOVING HIGHSMITH sheds new light on her writing. Family, friends, her own voice and beautifully interweaved archive material draw a vivid portrait of one of the most prolific female authors to date. Highsmith wrote over 22 novels, many were adapted to the big screen, best known are Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Carol. Carol, a partly autobiographic novel, was the first lesbian story with a happy end in 1950s America. [autlookfilms]

Germany 2019, 84 min
by Anna Hepp

The film is a non-commercial arthouse documentary film about famous 86-year-old German filmmaker Edgar Reitz. Anna Hepp, the young filmmaker of this documentary, meets with Reitz in one of Germany‘s most famous cinemas: the Lichtburg in Essen. This film‘s main focus is a continuous dialogue between these two people from two different generations and genders: young and old – female and male. Anna Hepp asks the film expert Edgar Reitz about if and how cinema might be fading away from Germany’s media culture. They talk about the difficulties of filmmaking and the struggle to survive in this business, then and now. The bottom line of the film is: just as at some point you have to say good-bye to everything in life, friends, family, loved ones, you might also have to say good-bye to cinema culture. Filmmaking is an attempt to preserve memories forever. The film is a declaration of Love for Cinema and Love for Filmmaking. (Venice IFF)