Polenta (1980)

Two solitary men (Bruno Ganz and Jean-Marc Stehlé) live in a remote hut in the snow-covered Jura. When a neighbor's girl (Aude Eggimann) is suddenly left all alone because her sister is dying, the three are forced to get along with each other. From this constellation, Maya Simon has created not so much a survival drama as a poetic film that draws its energy from moods and is interspersed with dark dreams and memories. The director studied at the Moscow Film School, and some of the shots in her debut film also reveal the influence of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was shown at the Locarno and Cannes film festivals and is now available in a newly digitized version.