Leila Hekmat at Bortolozzi

A hyperbolic comedy about a mother and her children that look to experimental modes of treatment, therapeutic practices and self-developed products to find their authentic person, and make the best of things.

The setting: an intimate tv sound stage. A host interviews each of them and guides us through the complexity of this unusual self-obsessed ménage to understand the method to their madness and wonders with the audience if they perhaps have found the answers. For sale and on display a family/ cult and much more than just your average goods and services. Equilibrium is lunacy and self betterment is curse of capitalism.

Mother is exceptionally alive to language and gesture, to the layers of meaning in every utterance; Alive to power play and conscious and unconscious manipulations. She doesn’t see any pain, desolation or terror in madness. She doesn’t glamorize it or claim it doesn’t exist. Rather she believes that the family could generate psychotic behavior in one member who was selected more or less unconsciously to bear the brunt of family dysfunction. Although sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish which member of this family has been chosen. Perhaps it is mother herself….

Written and directed by
Leila Hekmat

Starring
MJ Harper
Finn Ronsdorf
Cassie Augusta Jørgenson Nicki Fehr
Noah Lichtblau
Shade Theret
Gina Maiwald
Wieland Schoenfelder
Roman Lemberg
Roman Ole

Costumes and set design
Leila Hekmat

Music composed by
Roman Lemberg

Music and dramaturge
Roman Ole

Hair and make up
Franziska Presche

Tailors
Elsa Leguevaques and Grace Kim

Director of Photography
Parinee Burthrasri

Lighting
Annabelle Abdul

Editing
Kinga Kielcyznska

Produced by
Isabella Bortolozzi