Fireflower – The two lives of Marisa Mell

Who was Marisa Mell? The personas Marisa Mell and Marlies Theres Moitzi, as the famous actress from Graz was called by her real name, are juxtaposed, and companions such as Christine Kaufmann and her friend Erika Pluhar remember the actress. The film is also an attempt to illuminate and question the role of women in the film business from the 1960s to the 1980s from today's perspective, from a feminist point of view and against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement. Marisa Mell, born in Graz, a student at the Max Reinhardt Seminar and actress, was mainly cast as a femme fatale or “classic beauty” in the course of her film career, during which time she was a celebrated international celebrity. She starred alongside some of the biggest male movie stars of her time: Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, Tony Curtis, and Helmut Berger – who was also a good friend of hers. But in her roles, her acting talent rarely came into its own. Over time, film offers dwindled, and Mell had to reorient herself. She moved back to Vienna and during the last years of her life acted in theater.

Cast

Erika Pluhar

Erika Pluhar

Andre Schneider

Andre Schneider

Karin Moitzi-Aicardi

Karin Moitzi-Aicardi

Helmut Berger

Helmut Berger

Marion Mitterhammer

Marion Mitterhammer