Wir können nicht den hellen Himmel träumen [We cannot dream up a bright sky]
Carmen Tartarotti
_"Work and prayer belong to the monastery. Don't just pray. I would go mad, praying all day!"_
The monastery Maria Steinach in the Dolomites. Of the once 28 Dominican Sisters, only the Sisters Angelika and Benvenuta are left. For more than 50 years, the two women, who are biological sisters, live everyday within the old walls of the monastery, whilst around them the faith community gradually dissipates. But to give up their home is not an option for them. Bone fractures, diabetes and age related ailments - the Sisters do not allow themselves to let the daily duties slip: prayer and contemplation, kitchen service, administration and garden maintenance. Impressively, they prove that two nuns can stem the task of managing a monastery - including a daily round of playing cards.
Over six years the Frankfurt filmmaker *Carmen Tartarotti* _(LICHTER winner 2010)_ has accompanied the feisty sisters and captured quiet moments of joie de vivre, silence and sometimes also loneliness in this hermetically sealed-off enclave. The portrait of two exceptional women provides valuable insights into a world which is about to disappear.
Since the younger of the two sisters, Benvenuta, died in October 2012, the 80-year-old sister Angelika inhabits (and manages) the monastery in Algund on her own. The responsibility however lies with the Dominican Order in Bolzano now.
*_Wir können nicht den hellen Himmel träumen_* received the *Audience Award* of the *city of Bolzano* at the *28th Bozen Film Festival* and was further honored as the *Best Documentary* at the *International Film Festival in Bergamo and at the *Austrian Festival for the New "Heimat"-Film.*
_"Formally, this plain, emphatic simple film fits in the best possible way the grounded authenticity of his indomitable protagonists [...]. It is a movie which was filmed without much effort and which is not relying on spectacular images. The steadiness of the nuns, their sense of the pristine and original, is wonderfully matched by the unaffected film language of Carmen Tartarotti."_ (Josef Lederle, FILMDIENST 19/2015)
"Complete review (in German) >>":http://www.filmdienst.de/nc/kinokritiken/einzelansicht/wir-koennen-nicht-den-hellen-himmel-traeumen,546382.html
_"With minimalist use and images full of symbolism, Carmen Tartarotti proves her staying power and perseverance in observing and thus stands out from other productions with her films. [...] The lively dialogues, the Watt duels or the personal insights make this documentary so valuable and show almost comedic potential in a place where you would expect it the least.”_ Petra Götsch, franzmagazine, April 2014)
"Complete review (in German) >>":http://franzmagazine.com/2014/04/13/jenseits-von-kreuz-und-haube/
"Buy Ticket now >>":https://shop.reservix.de/off/login_check.php?id=6cfc71637b2a7300b132ea0b9aa20ef61ee06a25e491bf48178ea329980a1d7176d210e3392713b8f073f252cb10a7fc&vID=12487&eventGrpID=182235&eventID=797911
2 April 2016
18:00 h, Kino des DFF
More information
Direction | Carmen Tartarotti |
Year | D 2014 |
Duration | 91 min |
Language | OV with German subtitles |
Production | Carmen Tartarotti |
Cast | Theresia Kerschbamer and Helene Kerschbamer |
Camera | Carmen Tartarotti |
Script | Ria Endres, Carmen Tartarotti |
Editing | Ferdinand Ludwig, Carmen Tartarotti |