Babushka

Austria, 1945. Together with her granddaughter Marie, Grandmother lives on a mountain farm. One day, of all things, two Russian deserters show up.
Influenced by her prejudice of the violent enemy, Grandmother hides Marie before the unexpected arrivals reach the farm.
Marie, on the other hand, is curious about the Russians. She sneaks up to them at night. In the process, she is discovered.
It turns out that the soldiers are kind people who have been affected by the war in very different ways.

Director Biography – Simon Höbert

Filmography during studies:

Ein tödliches Wochenede (2022). 30′ short film, editing
Babushka (2022). 19′ short film, script, direction & editing.
Sankari (2019). 15′ Short film, screenplay & editing

Director Statement

Telling the story of this film has a special meaning for me for two reasons.
Firstly, because of personal conversations with contemporary witnesses of the Second World War and the subsequent occupation period in Austria, which I was allowed to conduct in 2020 as part of a documentary production.
On the other hand, because of the stories of my grandfather, whose father never returned from Russia after the war. The photo used in the film shows him shortly before he was drafted to the Eastern Front.

During my research, I came across reports that there had been a camp in the Austrian town of Salzburg during the WWI and WWII, where, among other things, deserted Russians had gathered. This is how the story of the two Russian soldiers, who are on the run through Austria and pass by grandmother’s mountain hut, came about.

With ‘Babushka’ I want to address not only the fears and hardships during this uncertain time, which often affected civilians and soldiers alike, but also the timeless theme of prejudice.

The stresses and strains of the campaign, which had built up in the Russian soldiers, were often released in looting and acts of violence, but the opposite was also the case: time and again, contemporary witnesses emphasized how fond the Russian occupiers were of children and how they took care of families and gave them food.

The character of the grandmother illustrates the closedness to an open view. She focuses on the superficial, just as we often do when we allow ourselves to be carried away by unreflective black-and-white thinking amidst the many media reports.

The war of aggression waged by the Kremlin against Ukraine since February 2022 sadly shows how topical the film’s subject matter is. I hope that especially now ‘Babushka’ will contribute to the confrontation with bias and remind us that behind every uniform, every flag and every language there is ultimately a human being.

Trailer

Interview

Simon Höbert Director, Writer Adriana Praxmarer Producer Charlotte Wendt Producer Thomas Schroll Director of Photography Patricia Hirschbichler Key Cast “Grandmother” David Joel Oberholzer Key Cast “Young Soldier” Iva Höpperger Key Cast “Marie” Alexandrs Urs Key Cast “Old Soldier”