– The German filmmaker’s newest work is a dark comedy set in the future, about the challenges of ageing
l-r: Angela Winkler, Laura Tonke, Zoë Baier and Via Jikeli on the set of Frau Winkler verlässt das Haus (© Zeitsprung Productions)
The new comedy-drama by veteran German director Doris Dörrie was shot in Hamburg, Lübeck and Bavaria in early 2025. The film is now in post-production and is planned to be released in German cinemas in the autumn. Dörrie can look back on an extensive filmography, which got going in the 1980s and includes some very well-received works, such as the comedies Männer, Naked [+see also:
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film profile] and The Hairdresser [+see also:
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film profile]. Among her more recent features are Fukushima, Mon Amour [+see also:
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film profile] and Kirschblüten & Dämonen [+see also:
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film profile], which were set in Japan. Her stories always focus on a female perspective and tackle social topics.
This also goes for Frau Winkler verlässt das Haus (lit. “Miss Winkler Leaves the House”), centring on an 80-year-old character called Miss Winkler. Set in the future, in the year 2030, the film tells of the special friendship between the human protagonist and the robot that cares for her. Since the death of her husband, Miss Winkler has been looked after by her daughter, but when the latter gets a major acting job, she finds a robot to take over. The initial aversion to the new caregiver turns into an unexpected bond. The comedy-drama is the director’s take on topics such as ageing, loneliness and courage.
Dörrie is not only directing, but also wrote the screenplay. Behind the camera is a cinematographer with plentiful experience in cinema and TV productions, Leah Striker (Wild Heart, Ever After [+see also:
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interview: Carolina Hellsgård
film profile]), and the crew also includes editor Frank Müller (Cotton Queen [+see also:
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film profile], Shahid [+see also:
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film profile]), who has been working with Dörrie for several decades now. Overseeing the production design is Bernd Lepel (Manitou’s Canoe, The Conference), while Sabine Keller (Dying [+see also:
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interview: Matthias Glasner
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile]) is behind the costume design, and Astrid Weber (System Crasher [+see also:
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interview: Nora Fingscheidt
film profile]) and Judith Grotenrath are responsible for the make-up. Michael Manzke supervised the sound design, while Charlotte Goltermann (Berlin Blues) took care of the soundtrack.
In front of the camera, the movie brings together an international ensemble of both experienced and younger actors. Playing the role of the main character, Miss Winkler, is German stage and film actress Angela Winkler (Sisi & I [+see also:
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interview: Frauke Finsterwalder
film profile], Suspiria [+see also:
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film profile]), whose career stretches back to the 1960s. She has played, among others, in works by Volker Schlöndorff, such as The Tin Drum, and Reinhard Hauff’s Knife in the Head, alongside late Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. Laura Tonke (Amrum [+see also:
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film profile]) takes on the role of her daughter in the story. Playing supporting roles are Swiss actress Bettina Stucky (The Frog and the Water [+see also:
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interview: Piet Baumgartner
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interview: York-Fabian Raabe
film profile]) and Austrian thesp Josef Ellers (Andrea Gets a Divorce [+see also:
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film profile]).
Frau Winkler verlässt das Haus is a production by Zeitsprung Pictures in co-production with Wild Bunch Germany as well as German broadcasters Bayerischer Rundfunk and Norddeutscher Rundfunk, and in collaboration with ARTE. The film has been funded by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, FFF FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, FFA Filmförderungsanstalt, DFFF Deutscher Filmförderfonds and BKM Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien. The theatrical release is planned for 24 September 2026. Wild Bunch is in charge of the distribution of the picture, and Global Constellation is its international sales agent.
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