›Verführung: Die grausame Frau‹, FRG 1985, Direction: Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut
Copyright: Salzgeber & Co Medien GmbH
Verführung: Die grausame Frau
Si̇nema Transtopia
Wanda is both a mysterious dominatrix and a smart businesswoman. Her job is to be cruel, with the specialty of luring her lovers into the trap called seduction. In her art gallery in the port of Hamburg, Wanda stages sadomasochistic rituals as bizarre stage shows. She is also a commanding dominatrix in her private life. The film, based on the novel ‘Venus in Furs’ by Sacher-Masoch, triggered widespread reactions: With its BDSM scenes, the film not only angered the then Federal Minister of the Interior and the Catholic Film Service; it also caused controversy in lesbian and feminist circles. Some celebrated its subversive power, while others were disturbed by its radical display of sadomasochistic fantasies. Today, the work is considered an avant-garde-surreal milestone and a form of queer self-expression.
FRG 1985, Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut, 84 min, OV with ENG subtitles
Film talk with Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut
Moderation: Heleen Gerritsen (Deutsche Kinemathek)
In German
| Tickets | €9 |
| When | Fri 24.10.25, 21:00 |
| Where |
Zusatzinfos im Slider
Film details
Film data
D & SP: Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut
DoP: Elfi Mikesch
E: Renate Merck
S: Cäsar Gremmler
C: Mechthild Grossmann, Udo Kier, Sheila McLaughlin, Carola Regnier, Georgette Dee, Peter Weibel, Judith Flex
P: Hyena Films, Hamburg
Original format: 16 mm, 1:1.37, color
Screening print: 2K DCP, 84 min, Salzgeber & Co. Medien
Restoration info
For the digital restoration, the original 16 mm negative was scanned in 2K. The grading was supervised by Monika Treut and Martin Heckmann (Kinopost).
Elfi Mikesch
was born in 1940 in Judenburg, Austria. After training as a photographer, she went to Berlin in 1964. She works as a photographer, camerawoman and director. Since 1976, she has been making her own feature films and documentaries. As a camerawoman, she worked for renowned directors such as Werner Schroeter, Rosa von Praunheim, Monika Treut and Harald Bergmann. In 1984, she founded the independent production company Hyena Films with Monika Treut. Since 1991, she has been a member of the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) in Berlin, in the Film and Media Arts Section. In addition to international awards for her directing and camera work, she received the Special Teddy Award at the 64th Berlinale in 2014.
Monika Treut
is a director, author and producer. For over 40 years, she has shaped queer cinema in Germany and all over the world. She studied German and politics in Marburg and received her doctorate with the thesis ‘Die grausame Frau. Zum Frauenbild bei de Sade und Sacher-Masoch’. In 1984, she founded the production company Hyena Films with Elfi Mikesch. At the end of the 1980s, she went to the USA and, with her anti-conventional approach and her progressive perspective on lesbian and gay sexuality, gave decisive impetus to the emerging New Queer Cinema. Her feature films and documentaries have received international awards; in 2017, Treut received the Special Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for her life’s work, and in 2025, she received the Helmut Käutner Prize from the city of Düsseldorf.
Heleen Gerritsen
Heleen Gerritsen has been the Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kinemathek since June 2025 and is responsible for the Retrospective and Berlinale Classics Sections of the Berlinale. She studied Slavic Studies, Eastern European History, and Economics in Amsterdam, as well as Philology in St Petersburg. Her career has taken her to ARTE, SWR and RBB, among others. From 2014 to 2016, she headed dokumentART, and from 2017 to 2025, goEast. Her work focuses on Central and Eastern European cinema, remembrance culture and immersive formats. She is internationally active as a curator, author and juror.