06/07/2023 - The director of the winner of a Short Film Jury Award at this year’s Sundance, screening as part of EFP’s Future Frames at Karlovy Vary, homes in on the outmoded traditions behind her short

In The Kidnapping of the Bride, Fred, a native German, and Luisa, originally from Argentina, are preparing for their wedding. But when Luisa is confronted with the German tradition of “kidnapping the bride”, both must face up to the pressure that society exerts upon them and question their roles as individuals and a couple when confronted with outside ideas of family, traditions and culture.

Sophia Mocorrea’s powerful piece of work, which is both a cleverly realised character study and a fascinating exploration of modern society, won a Short Film Jury Award at this year’s edition of Sundance and is now screening as part of EFP’s Future Frames at Karlovy Vary.

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German-Argentinian Mocorrea chatted to Cineuropa about her graduation film from the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf and the traditions that inspired it.

Cineuropa: When did you first become aware of the practice of “kidnapping a bride” in Germany, and how did it inform the ultimate creation of the film?
Sophia Mocorrea: As I delved into my family's archives, searching for clues about my heritage, I stumbled upon a video that left me questioning the very concept of marriage. It was footage from my parents' German-Argentine wedding in Germany. One particular custom stood out to me: the bride kidnapping.

In certain regions of Germany, it is considered a playful game to kidnap the bride during their own wedding ceremony. The groom must then search for his bride and “buy” her freedom with gifts or money. But what started out as harmless fun quickly turned sour when my mother became unwittingly caught up in this outdated tradition. Eventually rescued by my father – after he’d proved his manhood through various challenges set by their guests – she had been traded like property for two bottles of schnapps. I wondered if such customs still existed today, despite our supposed enlightenment towards gender equality. Shockingly enough, they do. The tradition of bride kidnapping continues unquestioned at many weddings across Germany without anyone batting an eye.

I felt it was time we re-evaluated these traditions before blindly following them merely because they are part and parcel of cultural norms passed down over generations.

Our preconceptions about ideas of love, marriage and family are also often informed by representations in culture, which help reinforce the aforementioned preconceived roles. How important was it to you to sometimes undermine this visually and thematically?
In my films, it is important to me to break not only with cultural conventions, but also with audiovisual expectations. I like to play with different formats and look for the beautiful in the unsightly. I like to switch from a “dream level” to brutal reality because that's how I feel about the reality of the protagonists. They have created their own universe far from conventions. This world is interrupted again and again, and the reality of their universe is questioned again and again.

With my DoP, Jacob Sauermilch, we decided from the beginning to visually separate the moments when we are alone with the couple from the situations when they spend time with their family. Luisa and Fred's unconventional relationship and open attitude to life is initially told through a free, handheld camera that allows the audience to become part of their world. As the family members' expectations loom over them, a shift in dynamics occurs between the couple, which is reflected through an altered cinematic perspective. The use of prolonged focal lengths and stationary camera shots effectively convey how familial pressures have imposed traditional constraints on bride and groom alike.

Can you tell us a little more about your upcoming feature Marriage By Abduction?
Marriage By Abduction is a new film. It also revolves around the protagonists Luisa and Fred, but finds the time to deal more concretely with the emotions and relationship of the couple, but also those of the families and their socialisation. Where do they come from? Where do they want to go? Why are they getting married? Do they stay together? How do we as spectators see ourselves reflected in the different characters and different generations? Why do we repeat certain structures? Do Luisa and Fred free themselves from the structures, or do they remain trapped? I would like to seek answers to these questions in the feature by giving the main characters, but also the families, more space and time to develop.

In the feature film, Fred and Luisa become independent individuals who are constantly confronted with their own desires, doubts and needs for belonging. They lose the balance between all these different areas of tension, to the extent that they betray themselves.