DE 1992 | Director, screenplan, Sound: Klaus Wildenhahn | Camera: Gisela Tuchtenhagen | Editing: Annemarie Lang-Johannsen | Editor: Uwe Michelsen | Production Manager: Reiner Milker | Production: Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) | Colour | 16mm | 92 min | german OV | Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek

In her former life, Johanna K. worked as a civil engineer – Mr Kamermans – in Holland, building dykes and roads. Then she discovered her love of beautiful clothes and cabaret, and found her calling as a dancer. Pleasantly, calmly, and with admirable thoughtfulness, she recounts various stages of her eventful life between St. Pauli and Ibiza, between her own gender identity and social constraints and expectations. Johanna K. also talks about her failed ventures such as going bankrupt with a bar; her subsequent experiences as a stripper and sex worker; and her ageing body and Botox scars. Klaus Wildenhahn and Gisela Tuchtenhagen portray her and her environment gently, following the rhythm set by the protagonist and the respective situation. Johanna's younger friend and ally Andrea also plays an important role in this multi-layered documentary, which, thanks also to this second protagonist, addresses differences and lines of conflict within the community. (Borjana Gaković)

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