Austrian filmmaker Markus Schleinzer discusses his historical drama starring Sandra Hüller, who won Berlin's Best Lead Performance award.
Markus Schleinzer's third feature film, 'Rose,' a black-and-white historical drama, screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The film stars Sandra Hüller as a woman who disguises herself as a male soldier in 17th-century Germany. Austria has selected 'Rose' as its Oscar entry. Schleinzer wrote the role specifically for Hüller, and her performance continues to move him deeply. 'She's the queen,' he says, noting that even after viewing the film countless times, certain scenes still make him cry.
Schleinzer drew inspiration from a conversation with a friend who mentioned a book about a woman executed 250 years ago for wearing trousers. This prompted him to research historical archives, where he discovered numerous accounts of women who disguised themselves as men to escape marriages, gain access to education and employment, or serve in the military. Some may have been lesbian or transgender, Schleinzer suggests. He describes 'Rose' as a love letter to those forced to hide their identities to survive and...
