Die Anfängerin

At the age of 58, Annebärbel has become as cold as a block of ice. As a doctor she shows little compassion, and as a wife, little affection. Only her domineering mother elicits human emotions from her, and negative ones at that. But everything starts to change when Annebärbel’s husband abruptly leaves her and she is forced to take stock of her life. In the process, she makes a journey deep into her past and attempts to live her childhood dream of becoming a figure skater, abandoned years ago. With wobbly, tentative legs, she steps back on to the rink for the first time in decades. Enlisting the help of a young woman who is a top athlete, a group of older amateur skaters, and even the 1974 World Figure Skating Champion, Christine Stüber-Errath, Annebärbel begins to open up and emancipate herself from her mother and her own icy ways. (RiverRun International Film Festival)