Sleeping with a Tiger

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Sleeping with a Tiger
Sleeping with a Tiger film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
German Mit einem Tiger schlafen
Directed by Anja Salomonowitz
Written byAnja Salomonowitz
Produced by
Starring Birgit Minichmayr
CinematographyJo Molitoris
Edited byJoana Scrinzi
Music by Bernhard Fleischmann
Production
company
Distributed by
  • Stadtkino Filmverleih [at]
Release dates
  • 17 February 2024 (2024-02-17)(Berlinale)
  • 12 April 2024 (2024-04-12)(Austria)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryAustria
LanguageGerman

Sleeping with a Tiger (German : Mit einem Tiger schlafen) is a 2024 Austrian biographical film directed by Anja Salomonowitz. The film starring Birgit Minichmayr tells the story about the artist Maria Lassnig. [1]

Contents

It was selected in the Forum section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 17 February 2024. [2] It was released theatrically on 12 April 2024 in Austria. [1]

Synopsis

Sleeping with a Tiger is a hybrid of genres about the Austrian painter Maria Lassnig. It depicts her struggle in the male-dominated art world, her struggle for her art, her quest for her very personal artistic expression in which she expressed her pain on the canvas. And then also a film about her great artistic achievement.

The film is a biopic with a unique style. The painter is always portrayed by the same actress: no matter what age Maria Lassnig is shown in the film - whether 6, 14, 64 or 94 years old - the same person plays her, without any make-up to alter her age, so she always looks the same. She travels through time as a timeless figure. This is an artistic interpretation of her mental state. It is said that Maria Lassnig was ageless, wise as a young girl and youthful as an old woman. This means that this film is not really a biopic: it is a poetic approach to the fact that our soul never changes. [3]

Cast

Production

The film produced by the Austrian coop99 with Antonin Svoboda as producer, has the Stadtkino Filmverleih as the distributor for Austria. The production was supported by the Austrian Film Institute, the Vienna Film Fund, Film Location Austria (FISA), the state of Lower Austria and the state of Carinthia. Austrian Broadcasting Corporation are television participants for the film, which is directed and written by Anja Salomonowitz, with Jo Molitoris as the director of photography and Joana Scrinzi as the editor. [4]

Filming took place over 28 days from 17 March 2022 in Vienna, Carinthia and Lower Austria. [4] Film was also shot in the coat of arms hall of the Landhaus Klagenfurt, where Lassnig's exhibition from 1947 was recreated, and in Feistritz ob Grades, where the painter died in 2014. [5] The filming ended on 3 May 2022. [6]

Release

Sleeping with a Tiger premiered globally on February 17, 2024, as part of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in the Forum section. [7] [8] [9]

The film was released theatrically in Austria on April 12, 2024, by Stadtkino Filmverleih. [4]

Reception

Susanne Gottlieb reviewing the film at Berlinale for Cineuropa wrote, "Delving into the life of Austrian painter Maria Lassnig with a non-linear approach, Anja Salomonowitz breaks with the traditional biopic while also keeping her subject an enigma." [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sleeping with a Tiger". Austrian Film Institute. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  2. Economou, Vassilis (18 January 2024). "The Berlinale lifts the veil on its full Forum line-up". Cineuropa . Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. "Mit einem Tiger schlafen" [Sleeping with a tiger]. coop99 filmproduktion (in German). 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sleeping with a Tiger | Feature Film Biography". Austrian Film Institute. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  5. "Leben von Maria Lassnig wird verfilmt" [Life of Maria Lassnig is being made into a film]. ORF (in German). 25 April 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  6. "Sleeping with a Tiger | Feature Film, 2022-2023 – Biopic – Austria". Crew United. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  7. Goodfellow, Melanie (17 January 2024). "Berlinale Unveils Full Panorama, Forum & Generation Line-Ups With New Films By Nathan Silver, Levan Akin, André Téchiné & Bruce LaBruce". Deadline . Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  8. Dalton, Ben (17 January 2024). "Berlinale Unveils Complete 2024 Panorama, Generation, and Forum Sections". ScreenDaily . Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  9. "Sleeping with a Tiger". Berlinale. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. Gottlieb, Susanne (20 February 2024). "Review: Sleeping with a Tiger". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 February 2024.