Lower Upper Cut

The theater administrator knocks on the door of the provincial theater. Borchart is an old white man before the term came into fashion, a powerful despot who announces himself and then suddenly disappears. The Lower Depths is on the program and with it the drama students’ final audition. Let’s see what you can do! Anna, Nele, Lilly, Jenny and Tara form the core of the troupe, a new generation of actresses who want to be someone, but can also protest. Vulnerable, because every physical movement can become a personal attack, every criticism can end in tears. Rebellious, because they are dissatisfied with the way things are – as students and as actors. Splendid and merciless, director and actor Nicolas Wackerbarth improvises his ensemble through a film that walks a tightrope between humor and harshness and dissects a dependency system of acting in which the person, profession and role must be constantly renegotiated. Do you want to make a political difference or do you just want to get to the top? Unten Mitte Kinn (Lower Upper Cut) is Wackerbarth’s sadly neglected graduation film and in a way forms the basis for his much-acclaimed women’s film Casting, which celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale Forum in 2017. 

Image © Filmgalerie 451