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Western Western

Valeska Grisebach / Germany, Austria, Bulgaria / 2017 / 120 min / Bulgarian, English, German

Using the tropes of the western genre, Valeska Grisebach tells a story about prejudices, mistrust and typical male rivalry between German workers and Bulgarian villagers.

Using the tropes of the western genre, Valeska Grisebach tells a story about prejudices, mistrust and typical male rivalry between German workers and Bulgarian villagers.

A group of German construction workers arrives in the Bulgarian countryside to construct a hydroelectric power plant. The foreign land awakens the men's sense of adventure, but they are also confronted with their own prejudice and mistrust due to the language barrier and cultural differences. The stage is quickly set for a showdown when men begin to compete for recognition and favour from the local villagers.

“I grew up with the western genre, sitting in front of a TV set in 1970s West Berlin. I felt the urge to return to it: it captivated me in a profound way. I wanted to grapple with the lonely, melancholic heroes and male mythology it portrays. I was excited by the genre's modernity – despite all its conservative elements – in its attempt to capture social construction and individual responsibility, yet still fraught with its own contradictions. I was interested in the intimacy of the duel, the inversion of 'love at first sight'.” (Valeska Grisebach)

Valeska Grisebach
Born in 1968 in Bremen, Germany. Before undertaking directing studies at the Film Academy Vienna, she studied German language and philosophy in Berlin, Munich and Vienna. In 2002, her graduation film, Mein Stern, won main prize at the Turin FF and the FIPRESCI Prize in Toronto. In 2016, she was script consultant for Toni Erdmann.

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