Die Friseuse

The Hairdresser

Back to square one! Unemployed hairdresser Kathi König has decided to move back to the Berlin district of Marzahn where she grew up. Her ex-husband, Micha, is still living in their detached house in Gräfenhainichen with his new wife and a new daughter. So here she sits, in between packing cases and the dubious charm of Marzahn’s concrete pre-fabs. Nonetheless, Kathi is determined to get a grip on her new life.

The job centre finds her a position at a hairdressing salon at Eastgate shopping centre. Kathi, who received her hairdressing training in the GDR and has a genuine passion for her trade, is to start the very next day. Unfortunately Kathi, who is a very heavy girl, is turned down because she ′doesn’t look the part′. At least that’s what the salon’s boss, Mrs Krieger, tells her. But Kathi isn’t easily deterred. She decides to open up her own hairdressing salon in the now-empty Asian snack bar next door to Salon Krieger. This marks the beginning of a battle with the authorities, the banks and a bevy of consultants.

"Die Friseuse" is the first Doris Dörrie film that has not been adapted from the filmmaker’s own screenplay. Doris Dörrie: "I was inspired by the character of Kathi. Laila Stieler hadn’t even written the screenplay when she first told me story. In long conversations she managed to convey the character of this hairdresser in a way that was so genuine, so real, so funny and excitingly different that I said to Laila: ′When you’ve finished the screenplay, I’ll be first in the queue of those wanting to film it.′ When I read the finished script I knew at once that I wanted to set out on this expedition into exotic territory – because East Germany is indeed exotic for me. But I can see East Germany with fresh eyes, because I hardly know it. And I for one would like to know more about someone like this hairdresser."

Source: 60. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)