Sonja Heiss – Director – Hedi Schneider Is Stuck (Hedi Schneider Steckt Fest)

FRED’s Nicolò Comotti interviews Sonja Heiss, who presented her second feature Hedi Schneider Is Stuck in the Forum programme of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

The German director Sonja Heiss, with this film, manages to tackle the serious issue of panic attacks without falling into the trap of clichès, and always leaving some room for comedy.

Plot: A model family’s happy life unexpectedly goes off the rails when the carefree Hedi, played by Laura Tonke, suddenly starts having panic attacks. First mental illness and then drug dependency – the happiness that these happy-go-lucky thirty-somethings once took for granted suddenly seems unattainable, and their world fragile and uncertain.