The Answering Machine

The Answering Machine [OmeU] D 2026, directed by José Cortés with Ivon Mateljan, Thomas Quasthoff, Ana Fonell, 90 min

Nov 5th 19:30: Premiere + Q&A José Cortés and Ivon Mateljan and live music! Nov 6th 20:00: Q&A José Cortes and Ivon Mateljan Nov 8th 18:00: Q&A José Cortes and Ivon Mateljan

EN

Julia, a young opera singer from Berlin, lives for her art. But between the expectations of her family, the pressures of an uncompromising career and growing emotional isolation, her inner balance begins to fracture.

As messages accumulate on her answering machine, the voices of the outside world start to penetrate ever deeper into her mind. What first seems ordinary and familiar gradually becomes part of an internal soundscape in which memory, fear and reality can no longer be clearly separated.

Music is far more than an accompaniment. It becomes Julia's language, her refuge, her obsession and eventually an emotional abyss. Every aria, every phrase and every note merges with what she is experiencing. The artistic expression meant to sustain her begins, at the same time, to expose her unraveling.

The Answering Machine is a psychological, music-driven arthouse drama about an artist standing at the threshold between creation and collapse. A 90-minute descent into the inner labyrinth of an opera singer, where sound, memory and truth become inseparable.

DE

Julia, a young opera singer from Berlin, lives for her art. But between the expectations of her family, the pressure of an uncompromising career and growing emotional isolation, her inner balance begins to tilt.

As messages collect on their answering machine, the voices of the outside world penetrate deeper and deeper into their thinking. What initially appears banal and commonplace is increasingly becoming part of an inner soundscape in which memory, fear and reality can no longer be clearly separated from one another.

The music is much more than an accompaniment. It becomes Julia's language, her refuge, her obsession and finally an emotional abyss. Every aria, every phrase and every note merges with what she experiences. The artistic expression, which is intended to sustain it, also begins to make its disintegration visible.

The Answering Machine is a psychological, music-driven arthouse drama about an artist on the threshold between creating and breaking. A 90-minute descent into the inner maze of an opera singer, in which sound, memory and truth are inextricably combined.