“Life often feels much more intense when traveling”

In 2022, you created one of the biggest successes in German cinema with “Wunderschön.” Nevertheless, as a filmmaker, you still belong to a minority. In Germany, only around 30 percent of all directors are female. How do you explain that?

Unfortunately, this is a structural phenomenon that pervades many industries in Germany. It’s because men are still considered the norm in our society. Entire work systems and work rhythms are geared toward them, and women have to organize themselves around them. Unfortunately, the issue still generates a lot of resistance in our society. Even in politics, I often still sense the spirit of 50 years ago. That’s why there is still no real freedom of choice for women. Worldwide, women are responsible for 75 percent of all care work. That comes at a price. This means they have to overcome more hurdles on their way to professional success than men. Which is why, of course, fewer of them achieve their goals.

Is that why it’s so important that more movies are told from a female perspective?

Absolutely. Since female filmmakers like Reese Witherspoon have been consciously telling stories from different perspectives, I’ve realized what I was missing before. I now realize how much more I am touched and integrated by movies that actually tell stories about women and their realities. That’s an incredibly wonderful experience. I’m delighted to see that narrative truths are multiplying – not just about women, but also about people with different cultural backgrounds, disabilities, different family structures, and so on. The more different realities are perceived and told, the more diverse and beautiful our world becomes.

Your current movie “Wunderschöner” also describes the back and forth that women still find themselves in as they fight for more equal rights.

The ripple effect of the movie was important to me because I don’t want to say that everything is and will be fine. Nevertheless, I want to show that there is hope for change and that there is great power in collective action. We can all work toward enabling people to live together more freely.

The movie makes you laugh and cry. Why is the alternation of tragedy and comedy so important to you in your movies?

Because I want to depict life in its entirety and with all its absurdities. And I want to show how comedy and tragedy often go hand in hand. I just think it’s nice to dive painfully deep into a subject in a movie, but also not to lose hope. I like it when you can experience both in one evening at the movies.

In 2024, you starred in “One Million Minutes.” The movie is about a Berlin family that escapes everyday life in Germany and goes on a trip around the world. How did shooting the movie change your view of the world?

I love looking at the world from different perspectives when I’m traveling so that I can better understand myself. Like when I was shooting the movie in Thailand and Iceland. When I was looking out of the window of a hotel in Bangkok, I realized once again how small Germany is – and how little the current political issues that affect us here every day play a role in other parts of the world. Many things are only in the spotlight for us. I think it’s important to be able to place yourself in a global context. Traveling gives you this opportunity.

What experiences made a particular impression on you during the trip?

I loved living for a while on the island of Ko Phra Thong in Thailand in a small village of huts right on the beach. Flying directly from there to the next shooting location in Iceland on the Hvalfjörður fjord was an incredible experience. I had just been in the middle of lush nature at 35 degrees Celsius and suddenly I was standing in a barren landscape at the edge of the Arctic Circle at 6 degrees Celsius. This extreme change showed me once again just how big the world is and what is out there.

You once said in an interview that you want to experience more again, instead of just getting things done. What role does traveling play for you in this respect?

I often think in everyday life: What have I actually been doing for the last two weeks? I have no idea! I haven’t really felt or experienced anything because I've been in “getting things done” mode the whole time. But when I’m traveling, life often feels much more intense because everything is new. As soon as I’m in a different city or area that I’ve never been to before, I feel like I’m much more attentive than at home. My eyes are big, my ears are wide open – my whole body is aware. I turn off my brain and let my gut take over. When your whole being is involved, life feels slower. That’s what I really enjoy about traveling.

On which of your trips did you have this feeling particularly strongly?

In Barcelona. I went there for the first time last summer and enjoyed spending time in a big city by the sea. I was never a fan of Spanish cuisine before, but the delicious tapas bars in Barcelona convinced me otherwise. This is also a typical travel phenomenon: You are much more open in other countries and involve all your senses. That’s why everything suddenly tastes so much better. I can highly recommend the Brummell boutique hotel in Barcelona, located in the mountain district of Montjuïc with a view over the city. The Joan Miró Museum is very close by and you can take the gondola down to the beach.

What other destinations are on your bucket list?

I really want to travel to Ireland, Scotland, and Canada, and get to know England even better. I’ve also never been to Croatia, Albania, and Romania, and I really want to go to these places one day. And I’m a huge fan of Tivoli in Copenhagen. I love amusement parks and could go there again and again.