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Filmstill Clown*esses

Clown*esses

Clown*esses
Jana Rothe
German Competition Documentary Film 2023
Documentary Film
Germany
2023
22 minutes
German,
Turkish,
English
Subtitles: 
English

Clown*esses are more than jesters; they hold a mirror up to society. They move between the worlds and like to break rules, albeit with a wink. At the same time, clown*esses are contradiction experts by nature, because they know on the one hand that life is far too short to be sad, and on the other hand use their art not only to entertain us but to make oppression and violence visible and attackable.

The artists portrayed in this film, for example, look closely at patriarchal structures and learned social behaviours. When Gözde in her unerring performances questions and satirises the images of women still prevalent in Turkey, this critique is rooted in her own experience – and that is precisely what makes it so funny. Lokke from Germany, on the other hand, emphasises the transformative aspect of clowning that allows them to try out different identities and characters, to refuse being pinned down and to ridicule stereotypes. Jana Rothe’s cogent short portrait presents these and other clownesque attitudes towards the world. It makes you wonder how in the world we ended up sacrificing fun and subversion to rationality in our daily lives.

Luc-Carolin Ziemann

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Jana Rothe
Script
Jana Rothe
Cinematographer
Elena Friedrich
Editor
Jannis Lange
Producer
Lilli Thalgott, Maike Mia Höhne
Sound Design
Roman Vehlken
Score
Periklis Liakakis
World Sales
Ben Vandendaele
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Gözde Atalay, Lokke Schlegel