German actress Sandra Hüller starred in Cannes Film Festival’s two main films : Anatomy of a Fall (Palme d’Or) and The Zone of Interest (Grand Prix). Despite the fact that she didn’t win an award, many agree that her performance was outstanding.
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Sandra Hüller is a versatile and talented actress. Having been trained in theater, she fearlessly appeared in several plays on stage. Moreover, she has established herself as one of Europe’s most confident actresses. With her versatile roles, she grabs the spectators’ attention and invites them into her characters’ worlds. Known for her stage work, Hueller has frequently collaborated with renowned theatre director Thomas Ostermeier, appearing in different genres from Shakespeare to avant-garde experimentalism.
Her captivating performance in Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, respectively directed by Justine Triet and Jonathan Gazer, won the audience’s admiration at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Both films reflect the actress’ sharp mind, emotional fierceness and ultimate audacity, which granted her the title “queen of Cannes” by the international press.
Talking about Justine Triet and Jonathan Gazer’s techniques, the actress stated that the directors were “completely different” in their approach. However, she added that “both are so focused on what they do. Some directors are a bit manipulative… don’t give you all the information you need for a character, but with these two everything was on the table ; what they wanted to achieve, what they wanted to tell.”
Born on April 30th, 1978, in East Germany, Hueller attended theatre classes in Berlin after the end of the Cold War. She gained international acclaim for Requiem in 2006, playing a woman with epilepsy in a religious community who believes she is possessed. This role won her the best actress award at the Berlin Film Festival. Her lead role in black comedy Toni Erdmann (2016) confirmed her status as a star of the festival circuit, proving she had comic timing to match her dramatic chops.
“I think about human beings as vessels for all sorts of feelings and emotions… it’s just a question of how to channel that and show that,” Sandra Hüller told reporters. As for the director Justine Triet, she praised her actress, telling AFP: “Everything that comes out of her is 100 percent strong. Due to her theatre training, she has a completely different way of working. When she arrives, she has already been working for months on the film so her first takes are very strong.” She also added : “She is an actress who has a real point of view on her character, there is a real exchange.”
About her performance in The Zone of Interest, which was particularly disturbing as she embodied Hedwig Hoess, wife of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Hoess, the actress stated that she “felt a responsibility as a German” to play the role. “There was no real way to do it right,” she said. “It was never about being good at something or doing something extraordinary. It was so little to do with acting, but with presence, with listening, being respectful for those around us,” she told reporters in Cannes.
By Marie-Christine Tayah with AFP.
Instagram : @mariechristine.tayah
