Anna Franziska Jaeger, the young actress who plays the title role in Dorothée van den Berghe's My Queen Karo has won the Alcoa Prize for Best Actress Award at this year's 23rd Cinoche Festival of International Cinema of Baie-Comeau (14-23 January) in Québec, Canada.
My Queen Karo was among the 30 features competing at the Festival. Jaeger plays the role of 10-year-old Karo who grows up with her parents in an Amsterdam commune in the 70s. As an only child, she leads a carefree existence in this utopia-for-adults. The mandate says that everything is to be shared in the squat, but soon not everyone is able to honour these ideals. Karo is torn between the love for her mother and loyalty towards her father and his ideals. She slowy realizes that nothing can stay the same forever.
Directed by Dorothée van den Berghe (A Girl), and also starring Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead, Pulsar), My Queen Karo is produced by Frank Van Passel, Bert Haemelinck and Kato Maes for Brussels-based Caviar (Madly in Love, Bo, Dirty Mind). International sales are handled by Doc & Film in Paris.