Without telling her mother, 13-year-old Jonja embarks on a vacation with the family of her best friend, Paul. The days by the lake are exciting and beautiful. Jonja falls in love with a girl, and her friendship with Paul becomes even more intense. She relishes the time away from her family routine, until the lie is eventually exposed, and Paul questions their friendship. Anika Mätzke precisely captures the inner world of adolescents, subtly addressing issues related to class and sexual orientation.
After completing her degree in media art and media design at the Bauhaus University Weimar, Anika Mätzke has been living in Leipzig since 2020, where she works as a screenwriter and director. In addition to the practical experience gained during her project studies, her participation in the TP2 talent pool and her participation and honourable mention at the MDM's KONTAKT young talent day were important influences for her work as a director and screenwriter. In her films, she explores the themes of relationships and family as well as society and identity in a calm and poetic narrative style, always focussing on authenticity and closeness to the characters. After six short films, "Jonja" is her feature film debut.
Selected director’s filmography
2023 "Do you know each other?" (Short film)
2023 "Jonja" (Feature film)
2020 "Prisma" (Short film, winner of Parkflimmern 2021)
2017 "Harmonium" (Short film, winner of the audience award at the Filmthür 2018)
2014 "Wandler" (Short film, winner of the audience award Allgäuer Filmfeschdival)
