Chennai International Film Festival

Sleeping with a Tiger

Austria | 2024 |  107 mins | German

SLEEPING WITH A TIGER is a hybrid film about the Austrian painter Maria Lassnig. A film about her struggle in the male dominated art world and the quest to find her own personal artistic way of expression in which she brings her inner pain on canvas. And of course a film about her great artistic success.

This Movie is a biopic within its own form. Maria Lassnig is always played by the same actress, no matter if she is 6, 14, 64 or 94 years old in the portrayed scene. There is no make up to change the appearance of the actress. She glides through the decades as an eternally identical figure. This is an artistic translation of her mental state. It is said about Maria Lassnig that she was ageless. Wise as a young girl and young at heart as an old women. So the theme changes from a biopic to a poetic approach as a whole to process that our soul, regardless of age, always remains the same.

Director
Image description
Anja Salomonowitz, born in Vienna, grew up in a Jewish family and was part of the socialist-Zionist youth organization Hashomer Hatzair. She studied film in Vienna and Berlin and worked with director Ulrich Seidl during her studies. Salomonowitz has developed a unique film language, blending documentary, feature film, and thesis. Her hybrid films, with a strict color concept, condense real experiences through artistic alienation. Known for their explicit political nature, her films push the boundaries of cinema’s artistic form and have earned international recognition and numerous awards.
Cast & Crew

Director                           Anja Salomonowitz

Producer                        Antonin Svoboda

Cinematographer            Jo Molitoris

Editor                             Joana Scrinzi

Sound Designer            Veronika Hlawatsch