Some historical sources put the figure at 45 cm. Apparently a tape measure would only have to be that long to completely encompass the waist of the Habsburg Empress Elizabeth. However, if the legendary beauty had difficulty breathing at the imperial court in Vienna it was due not only to her extremely tight-laced corset but also to the attitudes and conventions which permitted the Emperor’s wife no other function than to be a beautiful appendage at his side. Marie Kreutzer focuses on Elisabeth’s 40th birthday as a turning point which prompts her to withdraw gradually from this suffocating confinement. In CORSAGE she creates a portrait of a woman whose potential goes far beyond the limitations of the period.

Lola does everything she can to disown her sister, while Conny does everything she can to compel attention from her sister. Marie Kreutzer’s THE GROUND BENEATH MY FEET follows two women, at first sight such complete opposites, as they struggle with family links and the merciless professional world in their attempt to save themselves.

«The subject, rebelling against a generation of adults that you don't really have to resist, was very personal to me.» Marie Kreutzer talks about her feature debut THE FATHERLESS.