NOMINATED FOR A TEDDY AWARD AT BERLIN,
FRAUKE FINSTERWALDER’S SOPHOMORE EFFORT ALSO STARRING SUSANNE WOLF OPENS THEATRICALLY
ON JULY 12, 2024
“Lush, irreverent… with plenty of its own panache. This splendidly mounted production should comfortably connect with audiences… distinguished
by the spotlight it throws on Countess Irma Sztáray, the Empress’s
final lady-in-waiting, played with cunning and exuberance
by the dependable Sandra Hüller.”
— Guy Lodge, Variety
” Vividly shot, and the costume design is gorgeous,”
— Nadine Whitney, AWFJ.org
“Frauke Finsterwalder offers a thought-provoking and entertaining glance at the famous empress. The timelessness of this tale is further enhanced
by the incredible, anachronistic costumes by Tanja Hausner. “
— Susanne Gottlieb, Cineuropa
SYNOPSIS
In SISI & I, set late in the 19th century, Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary – known as Sisi (Susanne Wolff, Styx) — is living in an aristocratic women-only commune in Greece. Countess Irma (Hüller) is sent there to be Sisi’s companion, and she is captivated by the eccentric and extravagant recluse. But the outside world is reaching out to break Sisi. And no matter how much Irma and Sisi resist, in the end they are left with only one fatal path that will bind the two women together forever.
Guy Lodge of Variety calls the film “Lush, irreverent… with plenty of its own panache” and a ”splendidly mounted production” and Jacob Richardson of Film Focus Magazine writes that “both Sandra Huller and Susanne Wolff are impeccable in their respective performances”. Aside from being nominated for a Teddy at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023 and winning Best Costume Design at the German Film Awards, SISI & I earned Finsterwalder a Bavarian Film Award for Best Director.
