Directions: Pipilotti Rist

Pepperminta (2010, 80 min, in German with English subtitles) Before departing for art school in Vienna, Pipilotti Rist (Swiss, b. Rheintal, 1962) traded her given name Elisabeth Charlotte for a moniker drawn from Astrid Lindgren's irrepressible character Pippi Longstocking and Rist's own family nickname Lotti. The artist admires the fierce independence and optimism of the audacious heroine of children's literature, and Ewelina Guzik, the title character of her film Pepperminta sports a comparable attitude—and the red braids to boot. The fantastical narrative of Rist's feature debut is reminiscent of fairy tales and the Beatles' cinematic romps, and the power of color to liberate and inspire is as key to the film's plot as the actions of the eccentric characters. Pepperminta is an amalgamation of Rist's obsessions and ideas to date.