A director fends off meddling execs and egotistical actors while remaking a German classic in this ensemble satire
In a German film studio amid a half-built set, documentarian-turned-feature director Vera (Judith Engel) is trying to pull together a remake of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 film The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. This adaptation of Fassbinder’s own play, now considered a queer classic, featured an all-female cast orbiting around the manipulative titular protagonist. However, Vera wants to recast the crucial role of Karin with a male star, which would entirely change the sexual dynamics of the story. Whether she’ll manage to pull it off looks increasingly doubtful as agencies, TV commissioners and producers jostle over the final casting decisions, and a series of moderately known (in Germany) female actors come in to screen test for the role of Petra, each one mildly put out that they’re being asked to audition in the first place instead of being offered the role on her reputation alone.