Janine zieht aufs Land

“In order to withstand the contempt of those days, I often imagined that the village was a glittering stage. And now I want to return to the village.” Janine has made up her mind. Together with her asthmatic partner, she’s turning her back on Berlin. Yet in the lifeless village streets, her queer appearance doesn’t just awaken positive associations. Processing his own provincial past, Jan Eilhardt weaves a selection of private videoclips and photos into his film which reveal that Janine has been accompanying him for many years. They also show his memories of his mother Brigitte, who realised that growing up in a village formed an important test: rural stigmatisation as a sort of German Little Rock. It’s a path that still lies in front of neighbour Peter, who lives with his overwhelmed mother and his brother Enrico. Janine’s arrival stokes his yearnings, but also implies coming out and all the fears that entails. Eilhardt translates the encounter into a campy, eroticising and often dramatic 360-degree view of a hostile milieu. Confronting old wounds, Janine subverts this milieu with lasciviousness, music and the confidence of someone who’s never had anything to prove to themselves. (Carolin Weidner)

Jan Eilhardt studied Film and Performance at the HFBK Hamburg (including classes with Marina Abramović) and was an assistant to Heiner Müller at the Berliner Ensemble. His films and experimental projects have screened in international film festivals, cinemas, and museums. His feature debut Scherbengericht premiered in 2013 at the Slamdance Film Festival. Fremdenverführerin (2022), a queer-activist Super 8 short film, was shown in international festivals and won many awards. His autobiographical inspired feature Janine zieht aufs Land follows in 2025, supported by mediatalents (nordmedia).

Director Jan Eilhardt. Screenplay Jan Eilhardt. Cinematography Irene Cruz. Editing Verena Neumann, Jan Eilhardt. Music Ulf Wrede, Peter Uehling, Sanaa Schlaeger. Sound Design Harald Ansorge, Michael Gabelmann, Cedric Hommel. Production Design Johanna Meyer, Shel Yan, Katharina Zerr. Make-Up Vera Michel. Animation Maria Zbarskaya. Producer Jan Eilhardt. Executive Producer Santiago Gómez Rojas. Production company Eilhardt Productions (Berlin, Germany). With Janine Lear, Maximilian Brauer, Adrian Wenzel, Kathrin Angerer, Pierre Emö, Susanne Bredehöft, Daniel Zillmann, Beatrice Cordula.

Films: 2002: Straße der Revolution / Streets of the Revolution (short film). 2003: Dance (short film). 2004: Tertiär (short film). 2005: Quasar (short film). 2006: CDF 1 (short film). 2007: CDF 2 (short film). 2012: Moby Dick Piece (short film), Scherbengericht / The Court of Shards. 2013: The Last Night of Baby Gun (short film). 2014: Gun Street Girl Sings Tom Waits. 2021: The Real Court of Shards. 2022: Fremdenverführerin / Sanaa, Seductress of Strangers (short film). 2025: Die Bienenverweigerin / Beer Refusic (short film), Bad Luck (short film), Janine zieht aufs Land / Janine Moves to the Country.