Three friends get silly together, have an idea, dress up, and pull out the cell phone camera. Yesmin (Melina Benli), Bella (Law Wallner) and Nati (Maya Wopienka) perform “Losing My Religion" in a hijab. Only one of them, the Kurdish Yesmin, wears a hijab in real life, and she gives directions. But when Bella posts the video online without asking Yesmin, the act of freedom and self-actualization turns into a burden. Yesmin feels alienated – from her faith, family, and most of all, Bella and Nati, who aren‘t able or willing to be self-reflective. The award-winning feature film debut SONNE directed by Kurdish-Austrian director Kurdwin Ayub, who comes from Iraq, garnered a lot of attention this year and was regarded as a “turning point in Austrian film“ (Diagonale). At the same time, Kurdwin is clearly stepping in the footsteps of Ulrich Seidl both in a stylistic and conceptual way. Seidl‘s company produced SONNE and will also be producing her next film MOND. SONNE is a highly topical, confident film with a strong signature. The Instagram style, the visual language of Yesmin and her peers which the film is intrinsically mixed with seems both realistic and alienating. The actresses show how dumb and gross as well as brave and smart teen girls can be with a lot of improvisational boldness. When measured up against the Seidl ouevre, SONNE is also a film that is uncompromising and still warm, taking a position but not just leaving behind emptiness.

Eva Szulkowski

Translation: Elinor Lewy