Mädchen in Uniform

The outline of the story is almost identical to “Olivia”. The main character ends up in an all-girls boarding school, where she falls in love with her teacher. Both pieces are based on true events from the life of their authors. Yet, while “Olivia” prises the French school to the skies, “Girls in Uniforms” were for Christa Winsloe a way to deal with the trauma caused by the strict discipline of the German boarding school. It exemplifies intriguingly, how to – coming from the same springboard, make two completely different films.
The play made its debut in 1930 in Leipzig and Berlin and the film adaptation followed as soon as one year later, becoming one of the earliest films to show lesbian love in a direct manner. The film became a world hit right away and the play itself was even staged in Warsaw, Poznań and Cracow (all performances in the 1930s!). It is still a fundament of the lesbian film canon today.

🏆 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2020 – Special Award – Best Rediscoveries
🏆 Faro Island Film Festival 1931 – Queer Train Award – Best Feature Film
🏆 Kinema Junpo Awards 1934 – Best Foreign Language Film
🏆 Venice Film Festival 1932 – Audience Referendum – Best Technical Perfection