80.000 Schnitzel

Battering, breading, frying – Berta has prepared thousands of schnitzels in her old cast-iron pan over the years. This 83-year-old landlady’s life on the family farm with adjoining guest house in the Upper Palatinate has been marked by constant hard work. A life that her granddaughters Monika and Hannah never wanted to lead. Now, the deeply indebted farm is on the brink of collapse. Despite having an academic background and contrary to her intentions, Monika, in her early thirties, decides to give up her modern life and save the family business. The two women join forces and give themselves a year to sort out the farm’s problems. The director Hannah Schweier accompanies their endeavour, as Berta and Monika are also the filmmaker’s grandmother and sister, respectively. Schweier both tells the story and allows it to unfold while sensitively capturing the arduous everyday life on the farm. She uses her own family history as an opportunity to reflect on dreams, on getting older and letting go. A remarkably intimate and melancholic view of life. (Zurich Film Festival)