It’s the early 1970s. A city in Austria. Elfi, who was born with a slight disability right after the war in 1947, is a factory worker and laughs her way into people’s hearts. It is not easy for Elfi’s mother to accept her daughter’s disability. For them, the end of the war meant the end of their ideas about life. Children like Elfi, who were a little different, were destroyed. Elfi meets Sepp, who was also born disabled. 0Sepp is significantly older than Elfi. It was only thanks to his father’s caution that he was able to survive the war. They fall in love with each other. He can hardly believe his luck that he has now found the magical Elfi with the delicate little hands that fit three times in his. Happiness seems perfect. Only Elfi’s mother isn’t really happy about the relationship.
Little by little, dissatisfaction grows about the relationship between the two “dodels”. Are they even allowed to love each other? What if they have children – shouldn’t that be prevented? Elfi and Sepp don’t care much. They float on a cloud of happiness and decide to get married. Nobody wants to take it seriously. You give Elfi the pill and Sepp a pack of condoms and strongly advise them not to sleep together. And you should also think about getting married again. But Elfi and Sepp are not deterred. They don’t want to be forbidden from living together. When neither the mayor nor the priest were there on the day of the wedding and the family didn’t show up, Elfi and Sepp’s world collapsed. It’s a clear message. In desperation, they simply put the rings on their own fingers and Elfi asks Sepp to make her a child. From then on, an unstoppable series of adverse events begins.
The pressure from outside gradually overshadows young love. Elfi’s pregnancy divides opinions and only a few are on her side. Elfi receives support from her doctor, Doctor Schönmayer, who works to ensure that she is allowed to have her child. When Elfi is admitted to the clinic because of a hemorrhage, the head hospital doctor also becomes aware of her. He only frowns incomprehensibly at the idea of two disabled people having a child. It is said to be the clinic doctor who contributes the last bit to destroying Elfi’s dream of having her own family with Sepp forever. Doctor Schönmayer tries once again to prevent the cruelty. But it is Elfi’s mother who ultimately has guardianship of her daughter and signs the papers for an abortion. When Elfi wakes up again, the child is no longer in her stomach. What remains is a broken person. Elfi will never see her Sepp again. He was told to stay away from her so as not to make her even more unhappy. Elfi doesn’t know how often Sepp checks to see if she’s okay. Well hidden so that the elfi’s heart doesn’t break even more.
ELFI director and script statement by Anita Lackenberger
“Like all of my stories, ELFI is a true story, the cruelty of which is still hard to cope with today. There are still survivors from that time who start to cry when they remember it. There is also more than the ELFI and the SEPP that is worth crying about. A working and living environment that we have thoroughly eradicated through globalization, apparent progress and human abysses. In the world in which I grew up – and I’m already a fossil – there are still people who are slow, there is a special school where everything that doesn’t correspond to the norm is locked up. But there are also jobs for people with – as we call it in modern German today – “with special needs”. Today there is a workshop for everyone who doesn’t fit into the norm, or they are looked after by the welfare state or are aborted right before birth. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m anti-abortion, I’ve been a feminist from the very beginning and pro-choice is an essential foundation of my personal attitude. But at the same time, this search for the perfect people, even before birth, makes me suspicious of things we already had.
So the ELFI and the SEPP were already survivors back then, but people like them were more common in the mid-1970s. In my films, people will see themselves in these stories because they create a world a few generations back that no longer exists, but is still present in their reality today. The imbalance of language between ELFI and SEPP was made an issue. One would have also wished for more lilting romance, flower meadows and the ELFI and SEPP fighting around there. Oh yes, I cried and laughed knowing the people from that time. The men are silent, love is shown in other details and the ELFI is then silenced at the end because there is no happy ending. Men are often still silent today.”says director and screenwriter Anita Lackenberger.
In addition to the well-known Tyrolean actor Roland Silbernagel, who plays the shy Sepp in the lead role, newcomer Sofia Falzberger shines as Elfi. Some Tyrolean stars and actors can be seen in the other roles, such as Kristina Sprenger, Gerti Drassl, Bernhard Wolf, Thomas Gassner, Markus Oberrauch, Johann Nikolussi, Ute Heidorn, Carmen Sanders-Gratl, Lisa Hörtnagl and Katharina Hauser.
“Elfi” was funded by the Austrian Film Institute, ÖFI+, ORF (film/television agreement) and Cine Tirol.
Elfi Green Filming
The criteria of “Green Filming” were successfully implemented in this film. Particular attention was paid to sustainable products, the selection of hotels, glass bottles in the catering sector, waste avoidance and vegetarian days as well as carpooling.
World premiere “ELFI” – the film
On August 22nd, 2024, the feature film “ELFI” by Anita Lackenberger will celebrate its premiere at the Geierwally open-air stage in Elbigenalp in the Lechtal. “Elfi” tells the story of a great love between two people with disabilities. In the mid-70s, Elfi (Sofia Falzberger) falls in love with Sepp (Roland Silbernagl). The decisions about your life are made by others and simply being happy becomes a difficult matter. Experience the first presentation of “ELFI” with us and look forward to the actors Sofia Falzberger and Roland Silbernagl as well as numerous other well-known Tyrolean actresses such as Kristina Sprenger, Gerti Drassl and (poor Sanders-Grat!) as well as Tyrolean actors like Thomas Gassner, Markus Oberrauch and Johann Nikolussi. Numerous Lechtal actresses and actors also took part in “ELFI”. Above all, Bernhard Wolf, who also coordinated the filming in the Lechtal. We look forward to your coming and an unforgettable first film evening of “ELFI”. breathtaking backdrop in the Lechtal. Supported by the Austrian Film Institute, ÖFI+, ORF (film/television agreement) and the Cine Tirol.
Datum: August 22, 2024, 7:00 p.m. – August 22, 2024, 10:00 p.m
Art: Performances/stage
Ort: Geierwally Freilichtbühne
Elbigenalp 51a
6652 Elbigenalp
Austria
URL: https://www.produktionwest.com/elfi-film-feiert-weltpremiere/
Cinema premiere of “ELFI” the film
On September 13th, 2024, the feature film “ELFI” by Anita Lackenberger will celebrate its film premiere at the Metropolkino Innsbruck at 8:00 p.m. You can find further dates on our homepage: www.produktionwest.com “Elfi” tells the story of a great love between two people with disabilities . In the mid-70s, Elfi (Sofia Falzberger) falls in love with Sepp (Roland Silbernagl). The decisions about their lives are made by others and simply being happy becomes a difficult matter. Experience the first presentation of “ELFI” with us and look forward to the actors Sofia Falzberger and Roland Silbernagl as well as numerous other well-known Tyrolean actresses such as Kristina Sprenger, Gerti Drassl and (poor Sanders-Grat!) as well as Tyrolean actors like Bernhard Wolf, Thomas Gassner, Markus Oberrauch and Johann Nikolussi We look forward to your coming and an unforgettable film evening from “ELFI”.
Datum: September 13th, 2024, 8:00 p.m. – September 13th, 2024, 10:30 p.m
Art: Performances/stage
Ort: Metropolkino Innsbruck
Innstraße 5
6020 Innsbruck
Austria
URL: https://www.produktionwest.com/elfi/