Becoming Giulia
*Winner Audience Award 2022*
Giulia Tonelli, professional principal dancer at the Zurich Opera House, has missed the stage. After giving birth to her son, she returns to work from maternity leave. Giulia must struggle to keep her place in the elite ballet company – and find a balance between the competitive world of dance and her new family life. The documentary BECOMING GIULIA delves into the microcosm of a grand opera house. Filmmaker and former ballet dancer Laura Kaehr follows her protagonist up close and personal as she tries, with her passion for ballet, to master the demanding balancing act between motherhood and professional dancing while challenging old-fashioned stereotypes.
About the director(s)
The Swiss screenwriter, director and film choreographer Laura Kaehr trained as a professional ballet dancer. She also has a masters from the ZHdK and an Advanced Certificate in Film and Screenplay Writing from the UCLA. Her 2014 debut short film 1927 world premiered at Locarno Film Festival's "L'immagine e la parola" spring event. Her experimental dance film NEW WORLD (2018) was declared Best Short Film at the Underexposed Film Festival. Her debut documentary film BECOMING GIULIA world premieres at ZFF.
Filmography (selection): Becoming Giulia (doc, 2022) | New World (short film, 2018) | Avian (short film, 2017) | 1927 (short film, doc, 2014)
- Genre: DOK: Sports
- Country, Year: Switzerland, 2022
- Runtime: 103 Min
- Languages: Italian, English, French, German
- Subtitles: English, German
- Director: Laura Kaehr
- Cast: Giulia Tonelli
- Screenplay: Laura Kaehr
- Cinematography: Felix von Muralt, Stéphane Kuthy, Laura Kaehr
- Editors: Thomas Bachmann, Vincent Pluss
- Sound: Ivo Schläpfer, Rico Andriolo, Stefan Nobir
- Music: Mara Micciché, Julian Sartorius, Balz Bachmann
- Producers: David Rihs, Vanessa Droz
- Production Companies: Point Prod, SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen
- World Sales: Cercamon
- Swiss Distribution: First Hand Films
