Berlin, the Romantic Era. Young poet Heinrich wishes to conquer the inevitability of death through love, yet is unable to convince his sceptical cousin Marie to join him in a suicide pact. It is whilst coming to terms with this refusal, ineffably distressed by his cousin's insensitivity to the depth of his feelings, that Heinrich meets Henriette, the wife of a business acquaintance. Heinrich's subsequent offer to the beguiling young woman at first holds scant appeal, that is until Henriette discovers she is suffering from a terminal illness. AMOUR FOU is a "romantic comedy" based loosely on the suicide of the poet Henrich von Kleist in 1811.

Direction: Jessica Hausner

Script: Jessica Hausner

Production: Martin Gschlacht, Antonin Svoboda, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Philippe Bober, Bruno Wagner, Bady Minck, Philippe Bober

Cinematography: Martin Gschlacht

Editing: Karina Ressler

Production Design: Katharina Wöppermann

Costume Design: Tanja Hausner

Sound: Nicolas Tran Trong

Cast: Birte Schnöink, Stephan Grossmann, Christian Friedel

Original Title: AMOUR FOU

Original Language: German

Subtitles: English, French

Film Production Countries: Austria, Germany, Luxembourg

Website: www.amourfou-film.com

Statement of the Director/s
While writing the script I took as my inspiration the historical characters of Heinrich von Kleist and Henriette Vogel, but without intending to produce a biographical account; I am much more interested
in telling a story about the ambivalence of love, a story with more general validity. The historical setting permits me to tell the story from a distance, and despite the serious subject (double suicide) this also allows a certain laconic humour to be employed. As well as this, the historical context lends the film an interesting multi-faceted quality;
one expression of this comes in the dialogues about the administrative reforms in Germany during the years 1810 and 1811. On the one hand these reforms reflect the powerful
social and political upheaval taking place at the time, so they help solidify the epoch which is depicted in the film. At the same time the reforms are associated with a certain confusion or contradiction, and I am interested in portraying this: there were apparently very different opinions on these proposed reforms, each plausible in its own
way, ranging from fervent support to vehement opposition. This is typical for a period of uncertainty, when it is difficult to know where to take a stand - and this theme runs through the whole film, which aims to present contradictory truths that exist at the
same time, precluding an unambiguous response that dispels all doubts. The subjectivity of each standpoint is revealed, and this makes it impossible – in a time of paradigm shift – to understand exactly what is right or wrong.

Biography of the Director/s
JESSICA HAUSNER, Director and Scriptwriter, was born the 6th of October 1972 in Vienna, Austria.
She studied directing at the Filmacademy of Vienna, where in 1996 she made the short film Flora, which won the Léopard de Demain at the Locarno Festival. Inter-view, her graduation film, won the Prix du Jury of the Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999. Two years later, Lovely Rita, her first feature film, was presented in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival before being distributed in twenty territories. Her second feature film Hotel was again selected in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2004.
Her next film Lourdes had its premiere at Venice Film Festival 2009 in International Competition where it won the FIPRESCI Prize.
Hausner’s latest film Amour Fou is set around 1810 in Berlin and is based on the tragic life of the German writer Henrich von Kleist.

filmography (assorted, short)
2014 Amour Fou – feature film
2009 Lourdes – feature film, 90 min.
2006 Toast – short film, Kunsthaus Graz
2004 Hotel – feature film, 83 min.
2001 Lovely Rita - feature film, 80 min.
1999 Inter-View - feature film, 35mm, Colour, 50 min.
1996 Flora - short film - 35mm, Colour, 25 min.

please see seperatley submitted filmography for further details and prizes won

World Sales:
Coproduction Office
Olimpia Pont Cháfer
24 rue Lamartine
Paris, 75009, France
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +33156026000
Website: http://www.coproductionoffice.eu/

Press:
Monica Donati Office
Monica Donati
55, rue Traversière
Paris, 75012, France
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +33143075522