Austria Submits Berlinale Prizewinning Thriller ‘The Devil’s Bath’ for Oscars International Feature Film Race

“ The Devil’s Bath, ” a period psychological thriller which competed at the Berlin Film Festival, has been submitted by Austria as its official Oscar entry for the international feature film race. The film picked up the Silver Bear for best cinematography (for Martin Gschlacht) at the Berlinale.

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“The Devil’s Bath” is directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the Austrian filmmaking duo behind “Goodnight Mommy” which had bowed at Venice and had also represented Austria in the Oscar race. It went on to be remade into an English-language film released by Amazon under the same title, starring Naomi Watts.

Set in rural Austria in 1750, “The Devil’s Bath” stars Anja Plaschg, the up-and-coming singer and composer known as Soap & Skin. Plaschg plays Agnes, a young married woman who feels oppressed in her husband’s world, which is devoid of emotions and limited to chores and expectations. A pious and highly sensitive woman, Agnes falls into a deep depression, before committing a shocking act of violence that she sees as the only way out of her inner prison.

Based on historical records, the film is inspired by the true stories of women who attempted to end their lives by committing murders in order to escape the damnation promised to men and women who committed suicide. “The Devil’s Bath” sheds light on the plight of women whose lives during that era was defined by religious dogma and taboos.

The movie is being handled by Shudder in North America. The streamer also picked it up for the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It’s been sold around the world by Playtime.

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“The Devil’s Bath” was produced by Ulrich Seidl Filmproduktion, in co-production with Heimatfilm and Coop99 Filmproduktion.

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