Everybody Wants to be Loved (Not Everybody Gets What They Want)

Interview w/ Everybody Wants to be Loved director Katharina Woll by Karli Metros

A blisteringly hot summer day. Psychotherapist Ina (Anne Ratte-Polle) notices something is wrong with her. But she doesn’t have time to worry about it. Patients are waiting at the practice, her daughter (Lea Drinda) is threatening to move in with her father, her boyfriend wants to emigrate to Finland, and her self centered mother (Ulrike Willenbacher) is celebrating her 70th birthday. Ina wants to please everyone. But then everything changes.

KM: Where did you get the idea for this story and these characters? Were there other films you drew inspiration from?

KW: I am definitely a huge fan of Ladybird, even though it focuses on the perspective of the teenage daughter, I think that the mother–daughter relationship is told in a very deep and touching way. This was also my starting point: the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Later a third generation was drawn into the story, and the film’s focus shifted to a portrayal of three generations of women.

KM: Can you talk to me about your creative process and how you worked with the crew and cast?

KW: It took my co-writer Florian Plumeyer and I quite a while to write the script, we had to adjust a few things due to a small budget, and simply because it takes a long time to write a good script. For me, the cast was critical, and I needed the perfect performers to fill the characters with life. I am very happy with and feel very lucky to have worked with my cast — I couldn’t have imagined someone better suited to play Ina, Elli and Tamoma. We rehearsed quite a lot to shape the characters, make little adjustments to the script, etc. so that the characters and the story felt real.

KM: As someone who has directed a few different films, what would you say was different about this one? What challenges did you face while making this film?

KW: Shooting during Covid was definitely a challenge. Luckily we shot during summer and the Covid wave was low, but there was always the risk of someone from the cast or crew getting ill and that we couldn’t continue shooting.

KM: The main character Ina is so focused on pleasing everyone around her that she starts to forget what’s important to her. Is there someone in your life that Ina is inspired by? I believe many people would find her relatable.

KW: I think that a lot of women can relate to Ina. As a mother and daughter, I can too — but of course I exaggerate a little bit. For me it was important to point out the different pressures that women have to deal with — that we should be this and should be that… we should be a caring mother, a loving daughter, a sexy partner, etc. These roles are reductive and impossible to fulfill because they are often illusionary and contradictory. Women are trained and conditioned to try to please everybody — you can only fail.

KM: Family dynamics can be complicated and delicate. How would you describe Ina’s family? What role do they play in her life and in your film?

KW: I would say they play a far too important role in her life, in that she isn’t able to set boundaries with her mother or her daughter. She is also hard on herself for being a single mom and sacrifices for her daughter, even if it’s against her own needs and wishes. Even though she is a therapist, she can’t detect her unhealthy relationships within her environment and find a healthy approach. That’s the comedic, and also the tragic note of the film.

KM: Your use of color is really lovely and seems rather intentional — almost a master class in color theory. Can you please speak to me about your use of color and why you chose the palette that you did?

KW: Together with our cinematographer Matan Radin, we came up with a palette for Everybody Wants to be Loved where Ina and her therapists office are adored with calming colors, like blue and dark green — colors that are not so striking, especially in contrast to other characters and environments. Her antagonists, like Tamoma and Elli, are outfitted and surrounded by colors like red and yellow, and rather “aggressive” multicolored clothes with patterns.

KM: What’s next for Everybody Wants to be Loved, and what’s next for you?

KW: I shot a TV movie this summer, which I am in post production on at the moment. It’s an adaptation of a novel, which plays in the Munich Justice Palace. And I am writing my next feature film together with Florian Plumeyer, who also wrote the script for Everybody Wants to be Loved.

KM: What do you hope the audience takes away from this film?

KW: I hope the audience can relate to Ina and maybe see their life reflected to a certain extent. I hope the audience can feel with Ina and laugh about certain situations, and maybe by doing so recognize their own weak spots in their lives…

Everybody Wants to be Loved screens at North Park Theater on Friday, October 6 @ 2:30 PM w/ Cat Ashworth’s “Learning to Dance.” Director Cat Ashworth will be in attendance for a live filmmaker Q+A after the screening.

More info + tickets here — https://www.buffalofilm.org/events/everybody-wants-to-be-loved-w-learning-to-dance/