Anne, from Germany, and Nuri, from Israel, spend a few days together at his parents' house. A friendly break without ambitions of a relationship that evolves into an exploration of complicated terrain - personal, political and historical. As the two grow closer together, the missile defence system above keeps the war at bay.
Film student Anne and actor Nuri want to spend some time at his mother's house in Israel – to wind down, chill and work. The sun is shining, the house has a terrace with a pool. Unfortunately, however, the beautiful view is tainted by a construction site where Palestinians are at work. Helicopters circle in the air, at times a strange whirring sound can be heard. As Nuri explains, this is the Iron Dome missile defence system that protects the population from war. The juxtaposition of a safety concept with borders secured by the military and a highly personal space in which boundaries are tested and softened is the essential concept of this film from Henrika Kull: Anne is visiting a war hotspot and yet finds herself in a safety bubble. Two people from Germany and Israel cannot encounter one another without history playing a role – and yet during the sun-drenched days by the pool other things take on greater importance. Anne and Nuri grow closer, explore self-conceptions, mutual perceptions and matters of both a collective and private nature in a film that follows two individuals in search of authentic exchange and connection.
Text: Susanne Stern
English: Peter Rickerby
Credits
original title Südsee
international title Salty Water
german title Südsee
JFBB section Feature Film Competition
country/countries DE
year 2023
duration 89
Henrika Kull
BIO Born in southern Germany in 1984, she studied sociology in Cologne. After writing her diploma thesis on the sociology of film, she took up a degree in film production at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) in 2012. In 2014, she began studying directing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in the class of Barbara Albert, for whom she was also an assistant. Her feature-length graduation film “Jibril” premiered in the 2018 Panorama and won several awards including the Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award for Best Film. Her second feature, “Bliss” produced by Flarefilm Berlin premiered at Berlinale and was invited to more than 100 festivals worldwide. “Bliss” had cinematic releases in countries like France (outplay), USA (darkstar pictures), UK (bohemia media) and Germany (Salzgeber).
