A personal perspective
With False Minds, my third film as a filmmaker, I experienced my first major success in the international independent film scene. I wanted to tell the story of two women who could not be more different in their personalities. What begins as a relationship between two opposing characters slowly develops into a dangerous struggle driven by love, jealousy and ultimately murder. The film was made possible above all by two outstanding lead actresses. Anna-Maria Bergold portrays the dark and threatening woman, while Sonja Welter takes on the role of the blonde, frightened woman who becomes increasingly trapped in a disturbing situation. Their two very different characters and the intense performances of both actresses gave the film its particular tension. False Minds went on to make an impact at international film festivals and won a total of 16 awards. Among them were three consecutive first-place awards for Best Actress, Best Director and Best Film. For me, False Minds therefore marks an important moment in my development as a filmmaker. It was the film that first gave me the feeling of being noticed beyond my immediate surroundings — and showed me that my films could find their place in the international independent film scene.