Blind at Heart

Barbara Albert’s film adaptation of Julia Franck’s bestseller, which won the German Book Prize, is a stirring homage to female physicality and self-empowerment. When we first meet Helene, the “Great War” has ended and you get the sense that anything is possible for this bright, beautiful young woman. Helene and her sister Martha are itching to escape from the family home. By chance, the girls discover that their mother has a sister, Fanny, an exotic and glamorous creature who offers the girls a chance to escape from the home and move to Berlin. The sisters arrive in Weimar-era Berlin and Helene dreams of becoming a doctor but Nazism is tightening its grip on the country. Soon Helene loses touch with her dreams, then with her essence, then her identity. A great struggle takes hold and Helene must fight to regain her power and her life.

SPONSORED BY:
Sally and Michael Geller
Yael and Jeremy Horwitz
Bob Markin

Festivals and Awards

• Nominee: Best Film, Bavarian Film Awards, 2024
• Nominee: Best Film, Tokyo International Film Festival, 2023