Kristina Bangert

An all-girl Catholic boarding school near Vienna for the wealthy Austrian elite and their children. The school is thriving, but faith is declining and the upper floors are de­ser­ted. The head of the institution, a young energetic nun, fights with ardor against this decline. Martha, 12, one of the nun’s favorite pupils, is a devoted girl who wishes to expiate the sins of the world. Encouraged by the nun, she is given a penance belt and taken to the abandoned upper floor.

A snowed-in holiday hotel. A dead body in a room locked from the inside. The hotel manager wants to cover it up, but in the blink of an eye the whole hotel knows about it. Among the guests is an inspector - or at least he convincingly claims to be - who, together with his assistant who has travelled with him, undertakes extensive investigations. Then a second murder takes place. Although the inspector seems to be close to solving the case, the evidence is missing. Then, on snowshoes, the village policeman joins in, and immediately gets into trouble with the arrogant city dweller.

The film is set in the near future, in a world of perfect capitalism. Society is sustained by a class of top achievers; meanwhile, so-called minimum recipients live under sedation in Fortresses of Sleep. The great majority of top achievers view themselves as happy. An outsourced agency has been established for the rest: Life Guidance is charged with turning these individuals into optimal people as well. Alexander has internalized the system but one wrong word to his child triggers Life Guidance. He starts to rebel and encounters the horror of the system in all its brightness and affability.

The personal journey of young Sita is not only an expedition into her family's burdened past during World War 2. It is also a journey to the abyss of modern European society, a trip which takes her from Berlin to Romania via Vienna and Warsaw - about losing one's homeland and discovering oneself, about hope and responsibility.