SFFS Screen Presents: Das Fraulein October 24, 2008

Fraulein (Das Fräulein, Switzerland/Germany/Bosnia/Serbia 2006), an intimate drama about three refugees from the former Yugoslavia trying to build new lives in Switzerland and the emotional effect they have on each other, directed by Andrea Staka, will open at SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Friday, October 24, 1:45PM, 4:15PM. 7:15PM & 9:20PM.

“No one calls it Yugoslavia anymore.” The three women at the center of Andrea Staka’s feature debut don’t need a reminder that they come from a country that no longer exists—each carries the sorrow and longing that comes with such a heritage, though each carries it in a different way. Emir Kusturica regular Mirjana Karanović plays fifty-something Ruža, who left Belgrade 25 years ago and now runs a cafeteria in Zurich, keeping her Serbian roots well hidden. Ruža works with Mila, an older Croatian who, unlike Ruža, longs to return to her beloved homeland. Ana is the impulsive, itinerant young woman who has fled the war in Sarajevo and bursts into the quiet life Ruža and Mila have carefully cultivated in their little café, injecting her wild spirit into the joyless lives of these two women when she takes a job there. Staka’s background as a Swiss citizen of Bosnian and Croatian heritage informs this tender and insightful film that, in her own words, explores “displacement in our era.” Winner of both Best Film and Best Actress (for Mirjana Karanović as Ana) at the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Golden Leopard at Locarno, Fraulein, says Jay Weissberg of Variety, is “a remarkably affecting work that doesn’t go for easy sentiment.”

Written by Andrea Staka. Photographed by Igor Martinović. With Mirjana Karanović, Marija Skaričić, Ljubica Jović. In German with English subtitles. 81 min. Distributed by Film Movement.

At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets will be available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at www.sundancecinemas.com with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members will receive discounted admission to SFFS Screen programs at the box office only (not online or at the lobby kiosks).

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/events/films/film_fraulein.html