Child prodigy, scandalous author, traitor to the fatherland, feminist, fashion lover, communist, language terrorist, rebel, enfant terrible, nest fouler, brilliant, vulnerable artist.

The Weeks of the German Language series opens with a screening and subsequent discussion of a homage to Elfriede Jelinek, on the occasion of her 80th birthday, organized by the Austrian Embassy.

The Film Elfriede Jelinek, who in 2004 was the first German speaking female writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, focuses on her artistic approach to language. It is a multi-layered, associative film portrait, full of contradictions; it approaches the linguistic montage technique of the artist from her very own close perspective.

Following the film screening, there will be a discussion and exchange with film scholar Dr Olga Kourelou alongside theatre director and classical reception scholar Dr Magdalena Zira.

Dr Magdalena Zira is a theatre director and classical reception scholar based in Cyprus. She has also written plays, the scripts for short films and has adapted texts for the stage. In 2019 she was awarded the artist of the year award by the State Theatre of Cyprus. She co-founded the award-winning feminist theatre company Project Season Women. She is particularly interested in Ancient Greek drama and myth and their contemporary revision through a feminist and post-colonial lens. Since 2012 she has been an artistic associate of Animafest Cyprus, the International Animation Festival of Cyprus. She has participated in international festival juries and theatre and classics conferences.

Dr Olga Kourelou holds a PhD in Film Studies from King’s College London. Having held teaching positions at King’s College London and Sussex University, she is now Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Nicosia. She served as a member of the Cyprus Cinema Advisory Committee and has now been appointed to the Subcommittee for Script Evaluation. Olga’s research interests are in star studies, gender, race, and European cinema, with a particular focus on Greek-language film. She is currently co-editing a book on transnational Greek cinema, forthcoming with Edinburgh University Press.

Genre: Documentary, Director: Claudia Müller, Year of production:2022 Duration: 96’

Language: German with English subtitles

Cast: Elfriede Jelinek, Stefanie Reinsperger, Ilse Ritter, Martin Wuttke, Sandra Hüller, Maren Kroymann, Sophie Rois

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgbaow29O8I

In cooperation with: Friends of Cinema Society

With the support of: Charls Haimoff Fondation