“Trümmermädchen – Germany Year Zero” available from today on DVD and VoD portals

The feature film “Trümmermädchen – Germany Year Zero” by director Oliver Kracht is available on DVD as well as on VoD portals from today on the label Artkeim². Portuguese composer Pedro Janela and singer & lyricist Raquel Ralha wrote a song for the film. UCP.ONE brought the filmmakers and the authors together and is publishing the track worldwide.

The film, for whose screenplay Oliver Kracht was already awarded the Thomas Strittmatter Prize at the Berlinale in 2019, celebrated its world premiere at the 55th Hofer Filmtage in 2021, where it received a Special Mention from the jury of the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino in addition to the Bild-Kunst-Förderpreis for the “Best Costume Design and Best Production Design“.

Summary

Germany, 1946. Hunger, rubble, returning soldiers. Charlotte is pregnant, but her beloved homecomer wants neither her nor his child. To win him over and escape the threat of disgrace, she enrols in the “Fräulein Course” run by actress Gloria Deven, who was an aspiring film starlet under fascism and is now banned from working. But Gloria, with her merciless teaching, is not interested in reviving the girls’ coquetry, which had become unnecessary during the war. Instead, she awakens in Lotte a longing for something that has been denied her for too long: Freedom.

The long reverberating, provocative story of emancipation set against the backdrop of a new beginning in the ruins of World War II features an impressive Laura Balzer (nominated for the Götz George Young Talent Award at the First Steps Awards) in the lead role, who, with the support of a terrific, predominantly female ensemble (including Valery Cheplanova, Lena Urzendowsky), takes us on the emotional journey of the character scarred by trauma and oppression.

Pedro Janela is a composer of dreams, sceneries and atmospheres. His language is creative, innovative and explores the new processes and resources. Dynamic and versatile, he comes from a background of classical music that led him to study the piano at the conservatory. He inherited deep roots to music from his family, and among many others, Pedro remembers with great pride his grandfather, who was a lover of music and a craftsman who became a master in the art of building harmonies.

Raquel Ralha was born in Coimbra, Portugal in 1972 and has been a singer, musician and lyricist since 1996. She has recorded several albums with Belle Chase Hotel, Azembla’s Quartet, Wraygunn, Mancines, Raquel Ralha & Pedro Renato, The Twist Connection and Animais and has toured Portugal and Europe over the last decades. Raquel Ralha has also collaborated with other bands as a guest vocalist such as A Jigsaw, The Casino Royal, X-Wife, The Millions, Fast Eddie Nelson and John Mercy.

More information about the film: Trümmermädchen – Germany Year Zero