Available on VOD: mubi.com/films/30974 VOD France w/ french subtitles: www.universcine.com Ruža left Belgrade for Switzerland as a young woman full of hope for a new and better life. Twentyfive years later she appears to have achieved everything: She owns a canteen in Zurich, which she manages with a firm grip and financial success. Ruža values her meticulously structured daily routine, both in her professional and private life. Ružas's orderly world shifts when 22 year-old Ana from Sarajevo enters the scene. She feels threatened by Ana's direct and impulsive manner while at the same time she is intrigued by her zest for life. Slowly a friendship develops between these two self-willed women. However, a certain distance between them remains: Ružas afraid to open herself up completely, and Ana with a secret too difficult for herself to reveal. Andrea Staka was born in Switzerland in 1973. She graduated from the filmdepartement at the School of Visual Arts in Zurich. Andrea garnered overwhelming recognition at international festivals with her thesis film «Hotel Belgrad» and her feature documentary YUGODIVAS, both of which were nominated for the Swiss Film Prize. EUROPEAN PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland USA PREMIERE: Sundance Film Festival ASIAN PREMIERE: Pusan IFF, South Korea A quiet triumph! New York Magazine Breathes joie de vivre Aaron Hillis, Village Voice Making her feature debut, Swiss-born writer-director Staka writes in-sightful dialogue and draws naturalistic acting from the principals...Suggests a bright future for the filmmaker. Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter VARIETY, 10 DIRECTORS TO WATCH AT SUNDANCE By JAY WEISSBERG January 18th 2007 Andrea Staka is trying not to „be too crazy about the success“ of her debut feature „Fraulein,“ which nabbed the Golden Leopard at Locarno as well as prizes in Sarajevo and Valladolid. „It‘s a beautiful feeling, but my next project will draw me into a new adventure.“ Before that next pic gets off the ground, „Fraulein“ will be screening in Sundance (escorted by d.p. Igor Martinovic), as well as Rotterdam and Tribeca. The Swiss-born Staka, of Bosnian and Croatian parentage, began mining her Yugoslav background in her award-winning short „Hotel Belgrad“ and docu „Yugodivas,“ exploring themes of immigration and loss that proved to be perfect appetizers for the richly drawn characters in her first feature. „It is a personal story, not just because I talk about a community I know, but because I talk about feelings I know like loneliness and displacement.“ Equally interested in Staka‘s vision was Swiss production house Dschoint Ventschr (pronounced Joint Venture), whose founder Samir was a juror at Zurich‘s School of Visual Arts when „Hotel Belgrad“ was submitted as her graduation thesis. „The subject of modern displacement is crucial for new projects at Dschoint Ventschr,“ notes Samir, who encouraged the young helmer by offering to produce „Yugodivas“ and then, with Swiss/German coin, „Fraulein“ (pic is being released in Germany by Reel Fiction at the end of January). „Already back then I found the way she leads her actors and her visual style to be striking.“ For Staka, collaboration is the key: „I love to think in images, in textures, in sounds,“ she says, and by closely working with cameramen, production designers and actors, she expands and develops her ideas. With Martinovic, she feels especially connected: „He has a certain poetic style that was very close to what I like.“ But, she chuckles, „We challenge each other a lot.“ Her next pic won‘t necessarily have a Yugoslav theme, though Dubrovnik is a definite location. Staka describes the project as a coming-of-age tale, a mystery, but she‘s still allowing ideas to develop. „I like giving the process space,“ she says, and with the success of „Fraulein,“ she‘s finding that a lot of people are excited by the paths she‘s taking. > Website > Trailer with English subtitles > Download Filmflyer (PDF) > Download Presskit (PDF) > Download poster (PDF)		Drama, 2006 81min., 35mm Original version: Swiss German / German / Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian In theaters: German-speaking Switzerland 16. November 2006 Screenplay: Andrea Staka, Screenplay Collaboration: Marie Kreutzer&Barbara Albert Director: Andrea Staka Photography: Igor Martinovic Editor: Gion-Reto Killias Sound: Max Vornehm Music: Peter von Siebenthal, Till Wyler, Daniel Jakob Cast: Mirjana Karanovic, Marija Skaricic, Ljubica Jovic, Andreas Zogg, Shooting: November/December 2005 Premiere: Locarno IFF in Competition 2006 Festivals: Sarajevo Film Festival 2006, in Competition, Pusan International Film Festival South Korea, Sundance Film Festival (USA), Section «Spectrum», Solothurner Filmtage, International Film Festival Rotterdam, «Cinema of the Future», Mons International Love FF Belguim, Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, Bangkok IFF, Göteborg IFF, FF Annonay France, EU XXL. Film Forum & Festival of European Film Austria, Shanghai IFF, Miami IFF, Cleveland IFF, Hong Kong IFF, Guadelajara IFF Mexico, Vilnius IFF Lithuania, Go East FF Wiesbaden, Germany, Istanbul IFF, Buenos Aires IFF, Genoa FF Italy, Trondheim IFF, 6th TRIBECA Film Festival, Shadowline Salerno FF, Internnational Eskisehir Film Days Turkey Flying Broom Festival Turkey, European Festival Florence, Festroia FF Setubal Portugal (In Competition), IFF Artfilm Slovakia, Midnight Sun FF Lappland Finland, Haifa FF Israel, Osaka European FF Japan, Rio de Janeiro FF, Osaka European FF Awards: Golden Leopard Locarno 2006, FICC (Fédération Internationale des Ciné-Clubs) Don Quijote Prize, Junior Jury 1st Prize.Heart of Sarajevo Best Film & Best Actress (Marija Skaricic), FIPRESCI Prize at Valladolid IFF, Swiss Film Prize for Best Script, Best Film from the City of Zurich, Sguardi Altrovi Milan 1st Prize Jury, 12th Shadow Line Salerno FF, Special Mention of the Jury Production: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion Co-production: Quinte Film (Germany); Schweizer Fernsehen (Switzerland); ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel (Germany) Producer: Susann Rüdlinger & Samir Commissioning editors: Urs Augstburger (SF); Christian Cloos (ZDF) World rights: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion World sales: Media Luna Entertainment, Ida Martins Distribution (CH): Look Now! Distribution Distribution (int.): Real Fiction Filmverleih (Germany), Film Movement (USA), Rosebud S.A. (Greece), Polyfilm (AT), Blitz (Ex-Yugoslavia), Sherlock Films (Spain)