Requiem

Michaela has spent all her life in a small town in Southern Germany where she has grown up in a deeply religious family. Despite her years-long battle with epilepsy, she yearns to leave home and study at university. At first, everything seems to be going well - her first taste of freedom brings a romantic involvement with Stefan and a rekindling of a friendship with Hanna, who is from the same town. But soon, the shell of family and faith within which she has felt so protected starts to crack. The result is a breakdown.

Not a normal epileptic attack, but a frightening onrush of grotesque faces and voices. Afraid of being sent back home to her family, Michaela seeks help from a priest who reinforces her conviction that she is possessed. Though Stefan and Hanna entreat her to seek psychiatric help, they are unable to break through the dense religious and moral ties binding Michaela to her family, and leave her to fate...

Director Hans-Christian Schmid turns a sharply observant yet understanding eye towards a fragile human being at sea in a world of moral ambiguity. Inspired by true events, Requiem tells the story of a young woman torn between family, faith and illness. Stage actress Sandra Huller gives a stunning emotional tour-de-force in her feature film debut.