
“Women make tougher films!” Ever since cult director Kira Muratova gave this thought to the young filmmaker Isa Willinger at the beginning of her film career, it has been stuck with her. How come, since “female” tends to be equated with “empathic” and “sensitive”?
With this film Willinger sets out on a journey to the great female directors of our time. She meets world-famous directing legends as well as newcomers and radical pioneers. It becomes clear that the cinema screen is a projection space for real social problems and power relations. The question NO MERCY raises goes deep: Where do we really stand today in terms of women, men and power?
With: Ana Lily Amirpour, Catherine Breillat, Jackie Buet, Margit Czenki, Virginie Despentes, Alice Diop, Valie Export, Nina Menkes, Marzieh Meshkini, Mouly Surya, Céline Sciamma, Joey Soloway, Monika Treut and Apolline Traoré.
COMPLETED
Feature Documentary
104 min.
Written & directed by
Isa Willinger
Cinematography
Bernadette Paaßen
Siri Klug
Doro Götz
Editing
Lena Hatebur
Nikki Mossböck
Music
Brii Bauer
Jeschka Oszilat
A co-production with
Tondowski Films (GER)
FlairFilm (AUT)
In co-production with
ORF Film/Fernsehabkommen
ZDF in cooperation with ARTE
With the support of
Eurimages
Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
Austrian Filminstitute & ÖFI+
Vienna Film Fund
Deutscher Filmförderungsfonds
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
Creative Europe MEDIA
Festivals
Filmfest Hamburg 2025 (World Premiere)
16th Odesa International Film Festival
27th Festival do Rio
Viennale ’25
66. Festival dei Popoli
16th Doc NYC
