The Assualt

Woman and man clash in a bar: she slaps him (almost) out of the blue. His reaction is completely different than expected: the attack is a liberating impulse and opens up a series of friendly beatings that soon spans the entire city.
THE ASSUALT is Pia Frankenberg’s second short film, which began with a slap in the face of a different kind. A statement by Wighard Härdtl – at the time spokesman for the Federal Minister of the Interior –, was intended to defend changes to the guidelines for film funding initiated by Interior Minister Zimmermann: “Someone can just slap me in the face and declare it art” (Der Spiegel). By declaring the slap art, Pia Frankenberg twists Härdtl’s statement into the grotesque and proves that cinema can be a compelling answer to political censoreship.