Ticket of No Return: Film screening of Ulrike Ottinger

Bold, surreal, and darkly comic, the film follows a woman’s deliberate descent into excess, unfolding as a striking critique of social norms, gender roles, and bourgeois respectability.

Ticket of No Return
1979, 35mm, colour, 107 minutes
Suitable for 15+

In this hypnotic visually striking anti-odyssey, a glamorous, unnamed woman (played by and dressed by Tabea Blumenschein) arrives in Berlin with a mission: to drink herself into oblivion. She floats from bar to bar, attracting onlookers, voyeurs, and moralists, accompanied by a Greek chorus spouting statistics about alcoholism, adding a darkly humorous and surreal layer to this unique character study. What unfolds is a bold takedown of gendered judgement, social control, and cinematic convention, all filtered through Ottinger’s signature eye for spectacle.

Featuring unforgettable cameos from figures like Nina Hagen and Eddie Constantine, Berlin becomes both setting and subject in this fiercely feminist, absurdist portrait of isolation and excess. One of Ottinger’s most accessible and visually striking works and a perfect entry point into her world.

With lavish production design, camp flair, and fearless performances, Ottinger’s films are cathartic expressions of feminine experience, blending radical social commentary with deliriously entertaining cinematic spectacle. Still as bold and boundary-pushing as ever, her vision invites both Ottinger newcomers and long-time admirers to be captivated by her unique vision.

This event is part of Open School East's 2026 Associates Programme, Towards the Edges. Find more events at openschooleast.org/public-programme-2026.

Organised by OSE Associate Eve Jefferies.