LICHT

Vienna, 1777. Maria Theresia Paradis, known as Resi, is 18, celebrated in Viennese society as a piano prodigy – and blind since the age of three. After numerous failed treatments, her parents hand her over to the controversial miracle healer Franz Anton Mesmer. Under Mesmer’s treatment, Resi indeed begins slowly to see again – but as her sight returns, her virtuosity at the piano fades. In “Licht” (Austria/Germany 2017), based on Alissa Walser’s novel “Am Anfang war die Nacht Musik”, Barbara Albert tells of a young woman caught between healing and loss in Rococo Vienna.

The screenplay was written by Kathrin Resetarits. The film premiered in the Platform competition at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2017 and subsequently screened in competition in San Sebastián. In 2017, “Licht” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in the German Austrian Night section.

Shown at the 2017 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2017 · Film Archive