Laocoon & Sons A Film by Ulrike Ottinger and Tabea Blumenschein written by Chiquita Brook translated and edited by Ulrike Ottinger Germany 1972/73 16 mm, black/white, 50 minutes Ulrike Ottinger Filmproduction, Berlin Premiere: March 27, 1975, Arsenal, Berlin in France: February 28, 1976 Cinémathèque Française, Paris Festivals: Bruxelles Filmfestival des Femmes 1977; Rotterdam 1978 Aperto 80, Biennale di Venezia etc. Distributed by Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek e.V. Fairy tales are coming — Fairy tales are here to stay I am a picture — I am a fairy tale. And this is the sound of music This is Laocoon and Sons — Laocoon and Sons is a story for all seasons. One or two or three or hundred voices tell this story For the pleasure of your eyes and ears. These are women's voices. Once upon a time there was a country known by the name of Laura Molloy. Laura Molloy was the name of this country. Only women lived in Laura Molloy. Esmeralda del Rio was a woman. One day Esmeralda del Rio had the idea to undergo a series of transformations, which were to take her very far. So far did she go that she had no way of knowing how far she had gone. Two things were certain: Esmeralda del Rio was blond and in her own way she practiced a kind of magic which I would like to call 'blond magic'. Excerpt from the script This first film already contains many of the elements that reappear in Ulrike Ottinger's later films: an extraordinary woman, an unusual country and a chain of magic transformations that gives rise to a series of eccentric character depictions. This notion of transformation, taken from Virginia Woolf's Orlando, which contains the idea of death and destruction as well as resurrection, remains an important theme. The film was first shown in 1975 in Berlin. Ulrike Ottinger Cast / Staff Screenplay Director Cinematographer Production Ulrike Ottinger Text Chiquita Brook (alias Xavier Arroyuelo), Ulrike Ottinger Costumes / Make-up Tabea Blumenschein and others Esmeralda del Rio Olimpia Vincitor Linda MacNamara Jimmy Junod Tabea Blumenschein and many others Sponsored by Irene Weitz and Adelheid Westphal Distribution: Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek e.V. Potsdamer Str. 2 D-10785 Berlin Germany Contact: Karl Winter fon +49-30-269 55 150 fax +49-30-269 55 111