Life is not a competition, but I’m winning
DOCUMENTARY WITH FICTIONAL ELEMENTS – 79 MIN – 2023
The documentary film form has a preference for showing their protagonists while suffering. Despite all the good intentions, such narratives tend to exploit the protagonists‘ experiences, as they are used for the dramaturgical centre of a film. Conflict drives the story. But by restricting a film to the description of pain, the cinematic stage is often given to the forces causing these painful circumstances in the first place.
In »Life is not a competition, but I’m winning« it was crucial for us to not use the protagonists’ suffering to build a suspenseful narrative. Instead, utopian moments of collective togetherness slowly weave themselves into the lives of the protagonists as well as into the visual composition of our images. Suffering and pain merge into a vision of queer community that builds a powerful counterpart to the violence that was committed.
The crew of this project was made up of women and queer people only – not only for reasons of representation, but also because the incorporation of all participants’ experiences was essential for our project.
Synopsis
If history is written by the victors, where does that leave those who were never allowed to be part of the game? A collective of queer athletes enters the Olympic Stadium in Athens and sets out to honor those who were excluded from standing on the winners’ podium. They meet Amanda Reiter, a trans marathon runner who has to struggle with the prejudices of sports organizers and Annet Negesa, a 800m runner who was urged by the international sports federations to undergo hormone-altering surgery. Together they create a radical utopia far from the rigid gender rules in competitive sports.
Crew & Cast
directed by Julia Fuhr Mann cinematography Caroline Spreitzenbart sound design Cornelia Böhm gaffer Janne Ebel 1st AC Nadja Krüger on-set sound Rhys Anderson costume design Angela Queins set design Sonja Schreiber, Mireia Vila Soriano make-up artist Mai Strathmann editing Merit Giesen, Melanie Jilg vfx artists Isabelle Kramer, Fabian Peitzsch graphic design Anna Lind Haugaard dramaturgical advice Lena Hatebur, Susanne Bieger 3sat/ZDF Katya Mader producer Melissa Byrne production Sophie Ahrens, Fabian Altenried, Kristof Gerega
with Annet Negesa, Amanda Reiter, Caitlin Fisher, Daniel Marin Medina, Chun Mei Tan, Eva Maria Jost, Jakob Levi Stahlberg, Oumou Aidara, Greta Graf
a production of Schuldenberg Films in cooperation with University of Television and Film Munich and ZDF/3sat funded by FFF Bayern winner of ARRI postproduction award winner of British Pathé Archive Award part of Locarno First Look part of Into the Wild Mentoring
© Schuldenberg Films / University of Television and Film Munich / ZDF / 2023
Media
Filmkritik: Filmdienst, Online-Portal für Filmkultur
Filmkritik: epd, Filmzeitschrift
Filmkritik: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tageszeitung
Filmkritik: Kino-Zeit, Magazin für Filmkritik
Filmkritik: Filmstarts, Filmmagazin
Filmkritik: Filmlöwin, Feministisches Filmmagazin
Filmkritik: Missy Magazin, Feministisches Magazin
Film Review: The Pop Break, Digital pop culture magazine
Film Review: Business Doc Europe, Magazine for the European documentary trade
Film Review: The Hollywood Reporter, Digital and print magazine
Film Review: Screen Daily, Independent film trade publication
Film Review: The Guardian, British Newspaper
Interview: Deutschlandfunk Corso, Radiomagazin für Kunst und Pop
Interview: Fred Film Radio, Radio station
Podcast: Framing, Filmpodcast von critic.de
Podcast: Eine Stunde Liebe, Kulturpodcast von Deutschlandfunk Nova
Portrait: Tagesspiegel, Berliner Tageszeitung
Jugendbildung: Vision Kino, Netzwerk für Film- und Medienkompetenz
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Festivals
2023, Venice International Film Festival, Settimana della Critica – World Premiere
2023, Filmfest Hamburg – German Premiere
2023, First Steps Awards – Award for Best Cinematography
2023, Filmfest Osnabrück – Opening Film
2023, Queer Film Festival Munich – Official Selection
2023, Hamburg International Queer Film Festival – Official Selection
2023, MIX Copenhagen – Danish Premiere
2023, DocLisboa – Portuguese Premiere
2023, Queerfilm Festival Bremen – Official Selection
2023, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival – Estonian Premiere
2023, Braunschweig International Film Festival – Official Selection
2023, PinkPanorama Filmfestival Luzern – Swiss Premiere
2023, Europa Cinema al Femminile Naples – Official Selection
2023, Around the World in 14 Films – Berlin Premiere
2024, Festival del Cinema Tedesco Rom
2024, Festival International de Films de Femmes de Créteil – Frankreichpremiere
2024, BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – Britische Premiere
2024, Sunny Bunny Film Festival Kyiv – Ukrainepremiere
2024, One World International Human Rights Film Festival – Tschechienpremiere
2024, Crossing Europe Linz – Österreichpremiere
2024, Internationales Frauen Film Fest Dortmund + Köln – Preis für Beste Bildgestaltung
2024, Dokka Dokumentarfilmfestival Karlsruhe
2024, Frameline San Francisco – US Premiere
2024, Starter Filmpreis der Stadt München – Produktionspreis
2024, In the Palace ISFF – Bulgarienpremiere
79 MIN – 2023