Im Land der starken Frauen

Four loosely connected stories tell of the here and now, where human trafficking, the vagaries of people smugglers, violence against women, restrictive immigration laws, gambling addiction, debt and business deals of all kinds are the order of the day.

In the film, couples, whose love is put to a special test, give us insight into their lives. One partner of each couple is not originally from Europe and the lovers find themselves confronted with immigration law and its impact. The director combines very different facets into an exciting, very moving and strongly expressive documentary mosaic. A compelling, filmic plea for love without borders.

A documentary about the wondrous passion of Carmen Martinek, who takes movie theaters as her lovers.Carmen does a little of everything at Vienna's Schikaneder cinema: She cleans and caresses it, and runs the projector. She strokes its seats and even sleeps there after long nights at the bar. It is, she admits, just like being with a person you couldnŽt live without. Anja Salomonowitz made a quiet little film about Carmen, observing her as she moves through the empty theater, as she puts in only brief appearances at home and immediately returns to the base station. After being forced to watch as her last theater was transformed into a supermarket, Carmen considers movie theaters to be erotic but also endangered environments.

Five people in their everyday surroundings tell stories that they have never experienced personally. They recount tales of people involved in trafficking in women. They tell of exploitation , violence and force. They tell of realities which have happened and which might have happened in the places shown.