Our silent film series enters the next round with Richard Siedhoff at the piano. The Weimar-based composer and pianist has been accompanying film programs with his own compositions and improvisations since 2008. He is the main pianist at the Lichthaus Kino Weimar, where he also curates the silent film program.
A dismissed civil servant tries to escape the anger of his wife by turning to a so-called "grandmother" who is supposed to help him find a new job. Instead of helping, however, the "grandmother" writes a letter of recommendation in which she warns potential superiors against him and advises against employment.
Ménilmontant tells the story of two sisters who come to Paris as orphans and initially get by with small jobs. It is disastrous for both of them that they fall in love with the same man. The younger sister becomes pregnant and has to fend for her child on her own, while the older sister goes procuring for the man and ends up in prostitution. The sisters find each other again and take revenge on the seducer in their own way.