Ann Oren’s fetish feature ‘Objet a’ starring Aenne Schwarz, Louis Hofmann wraps production in Germany, Luxembourg

EXCLUSIVE: Production has wrapped in Germany and Luxembourg on Objet a, the new feature from Piaffe director Ann Oren.

Aenne Schwarz, Louis Hofmann from Netflix series Dark, Simone Bucio and Georg Friedrich star in the German-language film, which completed its 33-day shoot on Friday, July 25.

Written by Oren, it follows two hand surgeons and fetishists whose seemingly controlled world unravels when their new assistant enters their lives.

Production companies are Germany’s Schuldenberg Films, Luxembourg’s Tarantula and Greece’s asterisk*. Backers include Creative Europe Media, Deutscher Filmforderfonds, Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung fur Kultur und Medien, Hessen Film & Medien, Filmforderungsanstalt and Film Fund Luxembourg.

“Objet a is a tale about control and the hidden power in letting go of it,” said Oren. “It’s structured like a triangle of desire but with a twist. Objectophilia and fetishism in Objet a are a commentary on our modern desensitised body. We touch flat screens more than our lovers’ skins, and so miss out on touching and being touched.”

A statement from the producers says the film ’explores themes of desire, control, and bodily autonomy in a modern world that seems to have lost touch with its own senses’.

It is a second feature for Berlin-based filmmaker Oren, after Piaffe, which debuted at Locarno in 2022 and went on an extensive festival tour including San Sebastian and BFI London Film Festival. Oren also works as an artist, with works including 2017 documentary The World Is Mine.

Schuldenberg Films, managed by producers Sophie Ahrens, Fabian Altenried and Kristof Gerega, is a co-producer on Jaume Claret Muxart’s Strange River, recently selected for its world premiere in Venice Horizons.

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