Luca Dances Quietly

When can we consider our lives successful? Is it when we finally manage to understand maths and graduate from high school? When we know how to obtain a sick note so that we can postpone our exams? When we find the right one? When (s)he’s not an asshole? Luca knows that even such activities as getting up, dressing or eating can sometimes be an issue. The past ten years of her life were dark, but now she has her little pet friend Mata. She saved the doggy from certain death in Bulgaria and it has now become the reason for her to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast and go out. Moreover, she is trying to pass her school-leaving exams. Luca and her classmate Kurt decide to make a deal. While she will help him with his English, Kurt will tutor her in maths. However, she will need to rely on him with more than just solving arithmetical problems. For example, when the aggressive boy appears at the door yet again, or when she feels really, really down.

“Shortly after my debut Love me!, I started working on my second feature film. Then in April 2015 a thing happened in my life that affected me so strongly I had to stop working. I couldn’t find peace. All I could do was stroll around in my flat – day in day out. It became clear that these thoughts and experiences needed some processing. On Sunday I sat down at the kitchen table and started writing. On Tuesday 34 scenes stretched over seven pages of paper. A story I had to tell - unconditionally.”

Luca tanzt leise (Philipp Eichholtz, DE, 2016, 81 min. OV+ES)

The film’s Slovak premiere will be introduced by Philipp Eichholtz. Organised with the financial support of Goethe-Institut Bratislava.

Philipp Eichholtz

Phillip grew up in a small town near Osnabrück. At the age of fifteen, he shot his first short film together with a group of friends. In 2005 his short “The Last Night” won the Newcomer Prize at the Hamm Film Festival. Ever since then, Philipp’s status of a music video director for various German bands started to become more and more prominent.

Despite his unsuccessful attempt at studying at The German Film and Television Academy in Berlin in 2007, he decided to pursue his dream and continue working. Several years later, Phillip filmed his feature film Love me! (Liebe mich!) based on his own script. The film was premiered at The Hof International Film Festival, while his next film Luca Dances Quietly (Luca tantz leise) had its premiere this year at the Max Ophüls Preis festival, the most significant film event dedicated to the filmmakers’ first and second films in Germany. The screening at the 4 Elements Film Seminar will be the film’s first showing outside Germany. In the beginning of his filmmaking career, Philipp received generous support from his grandmother. Therefore,the production company he later decided to found now bears the name Von Oma gefördert (freely translated as Sponsored by Grandma).

You are kindly invited to the Breakfast with Philpp Eichholtz, the part of the German Mumblecore programme section.