Attenberg is a 2010 Greek drama film, written and directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival and Ariane Labed won the Volpi Cup for the Best Actress. It was filmed in the town of Aspra Spitia, in the Greek region of Boeotia. The film was selected as the Greek entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.
Plot A sexually inexperienced 23-year-old woman named Marina lives with her terminally ill architect father Spyros in an industrial Greek town by the sea, where she works at the local steel mill. Unable to relate to the people she meets, she lives her life through the wildlife documentaries of British broadcaster David Attenborough, the music of American band Suicide, and the sex education lessons given to her by her friend Bella.
Despite her sexual inexperience, Marina's relationships with her father and Bella show warmth and thought. Spyros, contemplative as he approaches death, shares with her how he believes that "man has designed ruins with mathematical accuracy", referring to the destiny of most architecture. But then cynically, he reflects that "We (Greece) went from sheep to bulldozers".
When a stranger comes to town, an engineer who begins a work course at the steel mill, Marina has her first sexual relationship with him. She is secretive but shares her experience first with Spyros, and later with Bella. As Spyros comes closer to death, Marina asks Bella to sleep with her father as a favor for the dying man, who has not been with a woman for a long time.
After Spyros eventually meets his demise, Bella and Marina scatter his ashes over the sea.
Cast Ariane Labed as Marina Vangelis Mourikis as Spyros Evangelia Randou as Bella Yorgos Lanthimos as the Engineer
Reception Quentin Tarantino, who was head of the Jury for the 67th Venice International Film Festival, said that the film "grew on us the most, and showed another Greece". Journalist Shane Danielsen called the film "an intellectually rigorous, quietly wrenching Greek drama". Peter Bradshaw characterised the film as "an angular, complex, absorbing and obscurely troubling movie".
Promotion A promotional picture for the film, where the tongues of two women meet, was censored on Facebook,"Kyssande tjejer tas bort från Facebook ", Dagens Nyheter, 6 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011. but Facebook now hosts a profile for the film in which the picture is allowed.Picture on Facebook, from images on the Facebook profile for Attenberg.
Awards Event Category Nominee ResultVenice Film Festival Coppa Volpi for Best ActressAriane LabedGolden LionAthina Rachel TsangariLina Mangiacapre AwardAthina Rachel TsangariWhistler Film Festival New Voices Award for Best International FeatureAthina Rachel TsangariThessaloniki International Film Festival Special Jury Award - Silver AlexanderAthina Rachel TsangariAngers European First Film Festival "Mademoiselle Ladubay" Best Actress PrizeAriane LabedMexico National University International Film Festival (FICUNAM) Silver Puma for Best DirectorAthina Rachel TsangariAudience Choice AwardAthina Rachel TsangariBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema Best DirectorAthina Rachel TsangariInternational Women's Film Festival Best Feature AwardAthina Rachel TsangariHellenic Film Academy Awards Best ActressAriane LabedNew Horizons Film Festival Grand Jury PrizeAthina Rachel TsangariRomanian International Film Festival Best Film AwardAthina Rachel TsangariEuropean Parliament Film Prize LUX PrizeAthina Rachel TsangariRunner-upAFI FEST Special Jury PrizeAthina Rachel Tsangari
See also List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of Greek submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
External links Official website Official Facebook page