PAULA

Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules. The exuberant 24-year-old woman rejects the conventional and explores her unique style. She flourishes in the countryside art community of Worpswede, where she develops friendships with artist Clara Westhoff and poet Rainer Maria Rilke. By marrying painter Otto Modersohn, she hopes to find a creative soulmate. He allows her to continue painting while assuming her duties as a good wife. Five years of domesticity take its toll on Paula’s spirit, and she travels alone to modern Paris, where she studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and soon begins a romantic affair. Headstrong Paula is unstoppable: she embarks on a period that will become her most compelling; a long-awaited period of creative fulfilment and self-realization...

Trailer

Director

CHRISTIAN SCHWOCHOW studied at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. He garnered attention in 2008 with his debut feature film, NOVEMBER CHILD. His two-part TV film THE TOWER (2012) won the prestigious Grimme Award. His second feature film, CRACKS IN THE SHELL (2011), received several accolades, including the German Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. His feature WEST (2013) also won the German Film Award, this time for Best Actress. He then made his debut as a theater director with Poison at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. The production was awarded with the German Theater Prize for Best Actress. His other acclaimed films include: BORNHOLMER STRASSE (2014, TV), NSU GERMAN HISTORY X (2016, TV mini-series), and his latest feature PAULA (2016).

photos © Pandora Film/Martin Menke