Emma Huet (he/him) and Tina Muffler (they/them) are two-thirds of the Kollektiv Schwestern, who met during a theatre programme and have directed several performances for the stage. Their first short film BLEIFREI 95, premiered at Locarno Film Festival, and recently was awarded the Golden Horseman Award for Short Film – National Competition at Dresden Film Festival.
BLEIFREI 95 is described by the pair as “born out of the chaos of queer second puberty” featuring characters existing in a “blur of adrenaline, energy, and horniness”. We chatted to the pair about influences, the production process, and what it meant to work with some legends of Berlin’s lesbian community.
Photo by Miriam Sand Kutzleben
Hi Emma and Tina, could you introduce yourself in a few lines?
We (Tina and E) bonded over our shared desire to make films that build a universe in which we can make fictional claims while remaining permeable to reality during the shooting process.
Why did you choose film as your medium? Is it your only artistic outlet or do you have others?
We are part of the performance Kollektiv Schwestern together with Miriam Sand Kutzleben. We connect both performance and film within the process of shooting.
Do you have a philosophy behind your filmmaking? Or do you feel like you belong to a particular artistic movement from the present day or past?
Dogma 95 influences us.
If you could watch one film on a loop forever, what would it be?
Rotten in the sun – Sebastian Silvan.
Tell us about your film. What is it about? How did you choose to tell its story?
BLEIFREI 95 is a coming-of-age film born out of the chaos of queer second puberty. It formulates a place of longing: whether it’s queer-lesbian cruising, beating up guys in your favorite bar, or the untenable promise to love each other—even if you fuck each other’s mother in a 6-minute 38-second car wash. Aino, Toni, and Lolly rush through the film in a blur of adrenaline, energy, and horniness.
Tell us about the production process on that film, what did you learn? Which parts did you enjoy?
BLEIFREI 95 is our first film and shooting it was very special for us, as we made it together with the queer-lesbian community: our friends, the regulars at Germany’s oldest lesbian bar, the Dykes on Bikes, and some of the most notorious lesbians in Berlin.
What challenges have you encountered while embarking on your film project? How did you seek to overcome them?
We like to find answers while making- for this you need to be good at working with chaos.
Can you share the most important lessons you learned through the process of making your film?
You need a great team and have fun.
If you could go back in time to pre-production and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Don’t shoot in a bar with music running or have a good plan for post production.
How did it feel to have your film win an award at Dresden Film Festival? How did you react?
We are really happy.
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