Picture Tree Intl. is on board as the sales agent for “The Ground Beneath My Feet” (Der Boden Unter Den Füssen), which the Berlin Film Festival revealed Thursday will be in its main competition section. The Austrian drama, directed by Marie Kreutzer, stars Valerie Pachner, Mavie Hörbiger and Pia Hierzegger.
The film centers on high-powered business consultant Lola, who “controls her personal life with the same ruthless efficiency she uses to optimize profits in her job,” according to a statement. “No one knows about her older sister Conny or her family’s history of mental illness. But when a tragic event forces Conny back into Lola’s life and her secrets begin to unravel, Lola’s grip on reality slips away.”
The film is Kreutzer’s second Berlinale entry following “The Fatherless” (Die Vaterlosen), which premiered in Panorama Special sidebar in 2011 and received a special mention as best first feature. Her second film, “Gruber Is Leaving” (Gruber Geht), released in 2015, was nominated for the Austrian Film Award and won Special Mention as best film at the Zurich Film Festival. In 2016, her third feature film, “We Used to Be Cool” (Was Hat Uns Bloss So Ruiniert), premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in official competition. Kreutzer’s first TV movie, “Emergency Lies” (Die Notlüge), starring Josef Hader, aired last year.
“The Ground Beneath My Feet” is produced by Novotny & Novotny, which previously teamed with Picture Tree on “We Used to Be Cool,” and “Egon Schiele – Death and the Maiden,” both released in 2016. The companies are also partnering on the upcoming historical biopic “Alma & Oskar,” starring “Phantom Thread’s” lead actress Vicky Krieps as Alma Mahler; the film is expected to shoot next year.