Mit einem Tiger schlafen

A painting. Green with conifers, the earthy tones of dry meadows and church walls. In the light streaming through her grandmother’s farmhouse, where Maria Lassnig spends her childhood, shines a cardigan in sky blue for the first time, shining as if not of this world. Growing up in southern Austria Lassnig is drawn, via Vienna’s Art Academy, into the local post-war art scene. Sky blue, pink, jade green, fleshy red. Taciturn, stubborn among men who like to hear themselves speak, she feels her way into her own body and takes a look at the world. She paints. She films. Mercilessly and mischievously. Doggedly she develops her career. She knows the value of her painting long before the art world follows suit with its verdict. Birgit Minichmayr embodies Maria Lassnig in Anja Salomonowitz’s filmic homage to the artist across all stages of her life and psychological states, fleshing out the “body awareness” of Lassnig’s art with a physical body that produces the art. An offbeat and complex biopic in hybrid form: acted scenes and documentary sequences interlock. The images are real. (Fabian Tietke)

Anja Salomonowitz has developed her own language for her films, mixing documentary, feature film and thesis. She lives and works in Vienna as a scriptwriter and film director. Sleeping with a Tiger is her fourth film to be shown at the Forum following It Happened Just Before (2007), Spain (2012) and The 727 Days Without Karamo (2013).

Production Antonin Svoboda. Production company coop99 filmproduktion (Wien, Austria). Director Anja Salomonowitz. Screenplay Anja Salomonowitz. Cinematography Jo Molitoris. Editing Joana Scrinzi. Music Bernhard Fleischmann. Sound design Veronika Hlawatsch. Sound Hijalti Bager-Jonathansson und Johannes Baumann. Production design Martin Reiter mit Andreas Ertl. Costumes Tanja Hausner. Make-up Sam Dopona, Verena Eichtinger. Casting Lisa Olah. Animation Klaus Krall. With Birgit Minichmayr, Johanna Orsini, Oskar Haag, Lukas Watzl and others.

Films: 1999: Macondo (short documentary). 2000: Carmen (23 min.). 2001: Get to Attack (5 min.). 2002: Projektionen eines Filmvorführers in einem Pornokino (14 min.). 2003: Das wirst du nie verstehen (52 min.). 2005: Ein Monument für die Niederlage (Loop). 2006: Codename Figaro (1 min.), Kurz davor ist es passiert / It Happened Just Before (72 min., forum 2007). 2012: Spanien / Spain (102 min., forum 2012). 2013: Die 727 Tage ohne Karamo / The 727 Days Without Karamo. 2019: Dieser Film ist ein Geschenk / This Movie Is a Gift (documentary). 2024: Mit einem Tiger schlafen / Sleeping with a Tiger.

Bonus Material