Feature Film
by Rosa Friedrich
Director: Rosa Friedrich
Producers: Sabine Moser & Oliver Neumann
Producerin: Klara Pollak
Production: FreibeuterFilm
SYNOPSIS
Isolated from the modern world, Maria, a teenager, lives with her demented grandparents. One day, she accidentally crashes the 18th birthday party of rich kid Bella. Maria gets blind drunk and wakes up in Bella’s garden with mysterious wounds on her hands. While Maria remembers nothing, Bella, sensing an opportunity to revive her failing YouTube channel, posts a video claiming Maria’s wounds are divine stigmata. Soon Bella’s followers are on fire for Maria, the “chosen one”. A dubious friendship between the two unequal girls intensifies at dizzying speed.
Maria tries to navigate her own way between successful online healings, holy merchandising, and funny Insta-Stories – but neither believes in God, nor in herself.
Born in East-Berlin, Rosa Friedrich studied directing at the Film Academy Vienna with Michael Haneke and Jessica Hausner, focusing on a slightly more playful and exotic approach to film language and film making.
Her film POTTED PALM TREES was selected for Karlovy Vary Film Festival and Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal. She was nominated for First Steps 2020 and was part of Berlinale Talents 2021.
Before dedicating herself entirely to film she studied philosophy, psychology and film studies and lead various dance and theater groups. She is currently developing her first feature film, the tragic comedy WHO IS AFRAID OF GOD? at the prestigious Torino Script Lab.
FILMOGRAFIE (selection):
2020 – Potted Palm Trees
Joshua Jádi is a German-Hungarian writer and director with a background in psychology and psychoanalysis. He studies at the Filmakademie Wien in the directing class of Jessica Hausner and writing class of Götz Spielmann. He was part of the Sarajevo Talents and the Locarno Academy Summer School and is Vice Programme Director at Film Festival Cottbus. Joshua also served alongside Katriel Schory, Lorna Tee, Katarina Radivojevic and M.J. McMahon on the jury of the European Film Festival Palić.