Painting Movies: The Danish Girl

In the organizer's words:

Based on a true story, the film The Danish Girl (2015) shows the dazzling life of an artist in Copenhagen in the 1920s, where Danish landscape painter Einar Wegener and his wife Gerda, also a painter, lead a happy marriage. Until one day Einar's life undergoes a fundamental change: When Gerda's model is unavailable, she asks her husband to have her paint a portrait of him dressed as a woman. What begins as a game with his own identity quickly unfolds into a profound inner transformation and Einar decides to undergo gender reassignment surgery, becoming Lili Elbe.

Gerda's love for Lili is at the center of the film and shows the complexity of relationships in transition, while at the same time questioning the rigid social norms of the time. Set against the backdrop of the early 20th century, a time of artistic and social upheaval, Lili's story also reflects the struggle for the recognition of trans identities. The film addresses not only personal, but also medical and ethical boundaries. The painting, both as a work of art and as a symbolic act of self-awareness, runs like a thread through the narrative and shows how identity and art are often inextricably intertwined.
We look forward to the opportunity to talk to Lukas Moll, the founder of Queer Art Hub, after the joint screening. As an artist and operator of the online platform for queer artists, Lukas Moll is committed to promoting diverse perspectives in art and thus wants to contribute to a deeper understanding and greater acceptance in society.

The film series Painting Movies, a cooperation between jungekunstfreunde, job&kunstfreunde and the film art cinema Filmpalette, deals with the tension between art/painting/photography in film. For each film, we invite an expert who will give us a brief introduction before the screening and then be available for a discussion about what has been seen.

Price information:

Members of freunde who present their membership card and students pay a reduced price