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Blessed Events

GER 2010, 90 min

A one-night stand with consequences.

Synopsis

37-year-old Simone decides to go out alone on New Year’s Eve. The next morning, she wakes up next to a stranger in his car, and a few weeks later she discovers that she’s pregnant. By coincidence, she runs into the stranger again – the handsome Hannes – and is surprised to find that contrary to her expectations, he’s actually happy about the pregnancy and wants to live with her. Could this be the face of happiness? While Hannes works in a hospital as a nurse in palliative care, tending to the dying with extraordinary tenderness, Simone renovates their shared, little home. An attractive neighbor fuels Simone’s jealousy. The larger Simone’s belly grows, the more extensively Hannes’ integrity warms the nest, the more oppressive their little, homemade prison appears.

Press reviews

The film explores the psychological consequences of this course of events with admirable understatement, steering clear of moral commentary, and deploying colour, lighting, landscape and architecture rather than dialogue to evoke Simone’s mood swings. Annika Kuhl’s performance is very eloquent, too. – Geoff Andrew, timeout.com

Awards and Festivals

- Toronto International Film Festival 2010
- BFI London Film Festival 2010
- San Francisco International Film Festival 2011
- CPH PIX 2011

Credits

Director
Isabelle Stever
With
Annika Kuhl, Stefan Rudolf, Arno Frisch, Maria Simon, Hanns Zischler, Juan Carlos Lopez, Jana Thies, Anne Weinknecht, Hans Christian Steyer, Lawrence Davis
Screenplay
Anke Stelling, Isabelle Stever
Director of Photography
Bernhard Keller
Editor
Bettina Böhler
Music
Yoyo Röhm, Jupiter Moll, Louis Marioth
Production Design
Beatrice Schulz
Set Decorator
Maria Schöpe
Costume Design
Anette Guther
Make-up Artist
Lilli Müller
Sound Design 
Frank Kruse 
Sound
Bernd von Bassewitz
Sound Mixing
Martin Steyer, Hanse Warns
Stunts
Dani Stein
Casting
Ulrike Müller
Commissioning Editor
Lucas Schmidt (ZDF), Doris Hepp (Arte), Barbara Häbe (Arte)
1st AD
Yann Schoenefeld
2nd AD
Isabell Kleinhardt
Set Manager
Steven Borski, Tina-Yvonne Müller
Production Manager
Martin Cichy
Producer
Sigrid Hoerner, Anne Leppin
Production
Moneypenny Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin)
Co-produced by
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (Mainz)
In collaboration with
Arte Deutschland TV GmbH (Baden-Baden)
Theatrical release (Germany)
January 20, 2011
World Premiere
September 14, 2010, Toronto IFF