Unterm Glanz (german title)
documentary, 71min, 16:9, HD, Poland/ Germany, 2022
Directing & sound: Gregor Eppinger
Protagonistin: Lydia K.
DoP: Christiane Schmidt
Editing: Rainer Krausz
Music: Theo Krieger
Production: Sehstern Filmproduktion, VidiFilm, Eppinger GbR
Festivals: 37. DOK.fest Munich, Duisburger Filmwoche
Screenings: Naxos Kino
Streaming: filmfriend
Awards: Nominated for the Hessian Film and Cinema Prize in the category “Best Documentary Film.”, nominated for VIKTORIA DOK.deutsch
Synopsis:
When Lydia goes about her work, she does so almost entirely out of sight. She has spent her entire life working as a domestic helper in Berlin and is one of likely thousands of women who commute back and forth between their Eastern European homeland and Germany in order to financially support their families back home. On weekends, she travels back to her native Poland to care for her elderly mother and her ailing brother. Only very rarely is she able to do something for herself. She has just one year left until retirement, yet whether she will ever actually be able to retire remains an open question.
Christiane Schmidt 