It’s not uncommon for a film to have a moving love story at its core. Yet this particular set-up is unusual. The lovers here are Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan, both important representatives of post-war German-language poetry. The story of their relationship is told through their nearly 20-year correspondence (1948–1967). Or, more precisely, by a young woman and a young man reading from their letters in a studio in Vienna’s venerable Funkhaus. The tumultuous emotions of proximity and  distance, fascination and fear captivate them. Yesterday’s love, today’s love and tomorrow’s: where the lines are blurred lies the heart of the film.

Austria, 2016, 89min, German with English subtitles, directed by Ruth Beckermann