Eva Trobisch's Film 'Wer ist Lea?' Explores Dysfunctional Family in Greiz

Eva Trobisch's film 'Wer ist Lea?' presents a mosaic of a dysfunctional East German family through small, everyday moments. The story centers on sixteen-year-old Lea, a casting show candidate who cannot articulate what makes her special. Her mother Rieke is pregnant by a new partner, straining their relationship, while her father Matze struggles to connect. Lea looks up to her aunt Kati, director of the municipal museum in Greiz, Thuringia, who faces opposition for her new direction. The museum undergoes major renovations with grant funding, while Lea's grandparents' forest hotel teeters on financial collapse. Kati's son Edgar provokes with exaggerated, generally dismissive activism. The film interweaves family and political fragments, including Lea's theater group rehearsing verses from Heine's 'Die Schlesischen Weber' and worrying whether their audience will grasp its contemporary relevance. Frida Hornemann portrays Lea with convincing restraint, hiding complex emotions that remain elusive. The film requires external interpretation for some scenes, and viewers never fully learn who Lea is by the credits.