Maren Ade (Germany, 1976)

If there would be a ‘Berlin Mumblecore’, this German girl would be definitely one of its members. Maren Ade’s films are small and tell mostly about her own personal experiences.

Her first one, Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen [The Forest for the Trees] (2003), describes a girl having too romantic and idealistic thoughts about being a good and helpful teacher. In the end, she just gets bullied and hated by everybody. Very realistic and painful, just the way we like it.

Alle Anderen [Everyone Else] (2009) is a little bit like Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine (2010) but without the happy flashbacks. We see a young couple, trying to get their relationship working but failing, they do not want to do the same fun stuff at the same time which is so frustrating, and recognizable. Their passion of love has finished and is replaced by the reality of living together. It’s a sometimes awkward but really fucking good movie!

She is making a new film, Toni Erdmann (2014), about a father who unexpectedly visits his daughter, working abroad, to improve their relationship. Which probably means forced and awkward situations once more.