Mermaids kiss better? No way, Stefanie Reinsperger’s new feature film “Mermaids Don’t Cry” is about satisfying longings and the question of happiness. The talk with the lively power Lower Austrian about bad coffee, quiet sports and the lack of interest in Austria’s showpiece, the “Jedermann”.
AUSTRIA. She was the “paramour”, determined in the cult series “Tatort” and works as a member of the ensemble in Berlin. Now Stefanie Reinsperger dives into a better world in her film “Mermaids Don’t Cry” as supermarket cashier Annika with a mermaid tail. MeinBezirk.at met the 35-year-old actress at a sunny, cozy talk in Vienna.
MeinBezirk.at: What does happiness mean to you?
Stefanie Reinsperger: Right now, happiness for me means having spent the whole evening with a mermaid tail balloon. My sister gave it to me, I had it with me the whole time at the premiere of “Mermaids Don’t Cry” – so lucky! And that I spent the whole evening and the whole night with such wonderful, great people that I can call my friends. Good coffee is also happiness for me.
Can you get good coffee in Berlin, where you live?
If I search well, then yes (laughs). Good coffee is happiness for me, bad coffee is great misery. Then there really are abysses.
As the saying goes: Happiness on earth lies on horseback. Or: Happiness is a little bird. For your role as Annika, luck comes in the form of a mermaid tail. So what brings you more happiness?
(laughs) Oh no, the mermaid tail brings a lot of bad luck to my character. That’s so sad. Annika gets the fin when she no longer needs it at all. In this respect, I can understand that you want to attach your happiness to something. You get that from the outside or even from the media suggests: “Buy this and your life will be better. And because you worked and saved for it, you reward yourself with it.” I can also totally understand that this feeling can also turn into “Then you have it and then it’s even worse than before”.
You were born in Lower Austria, you come from Austria, a country without a sea. How did you find your way around the mermaid tail?
So to be honest: I had no idea about being a mermaid before this shoot. I’ve also caught myself having one or two prejudices and laughing at them a bit. But I thought that was cool at the latest during training. These women who do mermaiding are athletes! They do really cool things like diving with sharks – and they also draw attention to the oceans or environmental policy. And then mermaiding is also something that stands for the longing for something different. It’s kind of interesting because the mermaid stands for a kind of genderless human being – although mermaids are associated with something feminine. Why I wanted to play this character was the longing for calm. Annika lives in his very noisy environment, where there is always something going on. Children yell and twirl around, in addition she has to do yoga every day in a very, very small room with many employees. Then I thought to myself: she definitely wants to go underground, just get away and indulge in the longing for something light. Mermaiding is so beautiful and dissolving as you move around in the water.
What talents do you need for mermaiding?
Anyone can do that. You just have to take into account at the beginning that the movement with the fin comes from the stomach and not from the knees. And I also believe that you can feel very comfortable there very quickly, because you are moving quickly and you can easily get the movements right. The challenge was more of diving into the depths. I had to go down six meters without any equipment – and the natural impulse of a human being is to come back up as soon as possible. I had to learn to stay calm. Because: For diving you have to be a very calm person. That was pretty tough. So it’s not really my sport (laughs).
… so there is no future in mermaiding for you?
No. I always think a little bit of princesses when I think of mermaiding. But I admire the Mermaids – the Austrians were at the premiere last week in Vienna and were so happy. And I think it’s really nice and cool. Please do it for everyone who wants to. And if a few more do it now, that’s even nicer. But I think I would rather dive without fins.
Here are a few impressions of Reinsperger’s transformation and swimming skills – click through!
Annika has her mermaid tail – what is your object of longing?
As a kid, I really wanted a Baby G watch. That was the thing you had to have to belong back then. We gave it to me for Christmas from my parents, who lovingly saved up for it – and I thought the watch was so ugly because I didn’t like the model (laughs). That has changed, also through growing up, how I deal with things that I absolutely want to have. For example, I treat myself to a really great pair of shoes after a shoot. It doesn’t have to be physical! I can also go to a great restaurant and invite friends over, I think that’s nice. And you can’t pay for my greatest longing with money anyway: I’m so longing to be happy in my job for as long as possible.
Speaking of your job, you played Everyman’s Amour in 2017 and 2018. This year there is a new duo with Michael Maertens and Valerie Pachner. Do you follow the development of the play?
No, I really don’t care that much. And, even if this is a shock for the Austrians: In Germany it is not reported (laughs). Nobody really gets it. The last few years maybe a bit more because Lars Eidinger played the leading role. But whatever it is, if I’m there in the summer, I wouldn’t say, “Oh God, I’ll never look at Jedermann again.” Why not? But I think I would tend to look at the entire festival program because I already know the piece (laughs). But in Jedermann there are really great actors who are playing this year. In general, I’m looking forward to the summer in Austria because I have many colleagues who do summer theatre. That doesn’t exist in Germany – here it’s amazing what a culture fan has to choose from.
As a Berliner by choice, you enjoy, as you just said, the summer of culture in Austria. What do you miss most about Austria when you are in Germany?
I also spend many months in Cologne and Dortmund because I’m filming “Tatort” there. The cities are different from Berlin and the temperament of the people is closer to me than in Berlin. But I won’t say that Berlin is my home – even though I’ve lived here for so long. I feel at home in Austria, even if it’s just for a day. The dialect, the food and the coffee mean home to me. And that nothing will change, not even in 20 years (laughs). Vienna is a cool city, but our federal capital can still learn from Berlin in terms of open-mindedness. How progressive people think in Berlin – in terms of people, but also in terms of gender. This is already fully integrated in Berlin and is no longer such a big issue, which I find very pleasant. But Berlin is a very casual city. Friendships, work relationships, and relationships take hard work.
Speaking of hard work, last year you advocated more anger in your book “Pretty Angry”. How important is anger to you now?
I am so grateful that the courage to be angry was worth it and that I really realized that I am not alone in this. Complete strangers on the street thank me for encouraging my book to be angry. So it was worth getting loud. And I hope that the book will continue to encourage people to position themselves and to dare. So I would say that in some areas I’m less angry than I was a year ago. Not just less angry, but happy.
I bin’s: the wardrobe
What do you love about O?
The coffee.
What is your favorite Austrian food?
Potato hash browns from my mom. She makes the best.
What is your favorite place in Austria?
At home. That is largely Biedermannsdorf, where I come from. But that could also be the Rüdigerhof in Vienna.
What is your favorite dialect word?
I can only choose one? Because there are so many good words. I’m a big fan of the word scabby. There are so few words that already express what they mean in their sound. Of course, Oida is also very good. Ragged skull is also a pearl!
Which Austrian inspired you?
Birgit Minichmayr.
To the movie
When Annika isn’t at the supermarket checkout, she’s dreaming of a custom-made luxury mermaid tail. Because her passion is mermaiding, and in the water – even if only in the indoor pool – she is free. Free from her father, who spontaneously stayed with her, free from her best friend, who likes to drop her two children off at her house, free from her one-night stand, who suddenly becomes a roommate, and free from fear for her job and the quirky boss. The fact that she can’t afford the expensive fins with the individually worked silicone scales and that the people around her are more of a burden than a help to her in realizing her dream doesn’t stop Annika. She rolls up her sleeves and tries to raise the money. But Annika’s search for happiness is much more complicated than expected…
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“My children are a magic moment”
“I’ve canceled Dancing Stars four times”
2023-07-08 08:42:13
#film #Stefanie #Reinsperger #doesnt #interest
