WHITE SNAIL

NEW YORK PREMIERE! FILMMAKERS IN PERSON!

“Following two unconventional documentaries – SPACE DOGS (2019) and DREAMING DOGS (2024) – focused on the lives of stray canines, filmmaking duo Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter return with the narrative feature WHITE SNAIL, where the two protagonists also exhibit a fondness for various animals. Set in contemporary Belarus, the film tells the story of Masha, a blonde, thin, fair-skinned model pursuing her dream job in China, and Misha, a tattooed, thickset painter working at a morgue. Played with extreme naturalness by non-professionals Marya Imbro and Mikhail Senkov, these two loners strike up an unlikely but profound friendship that will force them to confront their secrets and wounds. The worlds to which Masha and Misha belong are completely at odds. But as these characters form a strange bond, the fashion industry and the funeral business reveal equally unlikely coincidences and areas of overlap that subtly proliferate as the plot advances. By depicting how we and our bodies relate to sight and touch, life and death, reality and imagination, flaws and perfection, Kremser and Peter map two universes on to one another, leaving the viewer to determine where they intersect and whether they diverge.” –Cristina álvarez López, VIENNALE

These screenings are co-presented by Deutsches Haus at NYU and Erste Bank, on the occasion of the co-awarding of the 2025 Viennale Erste Bank Film Award to WHITE SNAIL. Since 2011, each annual edition of the Viennale (Vienna International FilmFestival) has featured the granting of the Viennale Erste Bank Film Award to one or more filmmakers whose films are included within the festival. Designed to showcase the best of Austrian cinema, the Award was founded by Erste Bank, the Viennale’s main sponsor, and is awarded according to the findings of an independent jury. The Award brings a cash prize as well as a residency as a visiting filmmaker organized by Deutsches Haus at NYU. Additional support for these screenings has been provided by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

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