2022 - 44' – German (Available subtitles: English, Italian)
By observing the daily life of an elderly couple, we realize love has different stages and that it’s often hidden in simple everyday gestures.
Lilian Sassanelli was born in Hamburg in 1993 and grew up bilingual in a family of actors in Rome. She got her high school diploma at an art high school. In 2013 she moves to Berlin for her studies and started to work as a production assistant at Wüste Film. In 2019, she completes her studies in German literature and European ethnology at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In March 2018 she shoots her first short film "Im Bären" (In the bear), which won numerous awards and was nominated among the five best films at the David di Donatello and the Nastri d' Argento. In September 2020 she shot her second short film "I Falchi" (The Hawks) , which is now being distributed by Sayonara Film in Italy. Since November 2019 she is studying directing at the documentary school ZeLIG in Bolzano.
Born in 1994 in Zagreb, Croatia. Graduated in English and French Language and Literature from University of Zagreb. Author of two short documentaries Escape Route (2019) and 5.4 (2020) that were screened at several national and international festivals. In 2022, she graduated in Editing and Postproduction at ZeLIG, a documentary film school in Bolzano, Italy as an editor of the documentary Zweisamkeit (Alone Together). Currently she lives and works as an assistant editor in Berlin.
Anna Schweitzer was born in Merano in 1998 and grew up in an ecovillage in Tuscany. After graduating from language high school she moved to Berlin, where she came into contact with the world of photography and her first film sets. From 2019 to 2022 she attended the Zelig School for Documentary, Television and New Media and graduated in the photography and lighting class with the documentary "Zweisamkeit". She is currently working as a sound recordist on the film "Undine*" directed by Felix Rier.
Duisburger Filmwoche - Competition - "Carte Blanche" Award for first and second films
Visioni dal Mondo 2023 - Italian Competition
This old couple, Elke and Klaus, they are my grandparents. I spent almost all my summer vacations with them. Since the moment I started to imagine my future, I dreamt of having a relationship like theirs. One for life. I have idealized love a lot in different phases. Especially in the last years, when I had to end a difficult relationship. I often wondered if I could be enough for another person, if someone could love me at all. This is because I have often failed in relationships. I am afraid to commit to someone because that person is then capable of hurting me. I don't think it's just me. Many people around me just can't have a long-lasting relationship. Do we, young people, idealize too much long-lasting love? What do we even expect? It seems that we are always looking for butterflies in our stomach, but often the person for life is right next to us, I think. This film was a sort of research for me, a search for answers. An observation and analysis of the love of my grandparents. I wanted to understand the mechanisms that lead to a lifelong relationship. I may not really understand them now, but I am beginning to sense them. I think love is much simpler than I imagined! It is perhaps a mix of causality, decision and perseverance. Or?
Country of production: Italy
Shooting Format(s): HD 1080@25p
Original Master Format: HD 1080@25p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Screening Format: DCP, Apple ProRes or any on request
Audio Format: Stereo (2.0)
Running time: 44’
Subtitles available: English / Italian
Director: Lilian Sassanelli
Cinematographer: Anna Schweitzer
Editor: Lucija Ana Ilijić
Soundrecordist: Angela Disanto
ZeLIG is located in Bolzano, Italy, a multilingual city where different cultures live together. The school is a place of exchange for students, teachers and film professionals from all over the world.
At ZeLIG the spoken languages are German, Italian and English. This creative approach to linguistic variety opens the gates to the international markets and to future opportunities.
