Jelinek: Film & Discussion

How do you portray a writer whose most revealing self-portrait may be her language? Claudia Müller’s documentary Elfriede Jelinek: Language Unleashed approaches the Austrian Nobel laureate through her work, bringing together archive footage, photographs and readings in an associative portrait that resists a straightforward account of a celebrated life.

The film follows the tensions surrounding Jelinek’s public image: an acclaimed and controversial author, a feminist and a fiercely independent artist. Voices including Sandra Hüller and Stefanie Reinsperger carry her writing into the film, while images from different periods reveal sides of the author that familiar labels tend to obscure. The documentary received both the German and Austrian awards for best documentary in 2023.

The screening marks Jelinek’s 80th birthday and opens the Weeks of the German Language programme. Afterwards, film scholar Dr Olga Kourelou and theatre director Dr Magdalena Zira will lead a discussion. Their backgrounds in cinema, gender studies and feminist theatre offer different perspectives on the relationship between a writer’s language and its life on screen and stage.

The event takes place at Pantheon in Nicosia on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, from 19:30 to 22:00. The 96-minute film is in German with English subtitles. Admission is free; the screening is restricted to ages 16 and over. Organised by the Austrian Embassy in cooperation with Friends of Cinema Society. Enquiries: +357 22 410151, [email protected].

Official programme: https://www.wddscyprus.com/event/elfriede-jelinek-language-unlashed/