Ungeschminkt (2024)

Josefa Beckmann was born Josef Gschwendt and left her home village of Distlfing decades ago after a bitter falling-out. Back then, as Josef, she was married to Petra. Josefa now lives with her husband Magnus in an apartment in the city and has had no contact with her parents for 35 years. Her father died ten years ago and had left his estate to Petra. When her mother, Gertrud Gschwendt, dies, Josefa is informed that she is her sole heir. Josefa returns to Distlfing. Her accommodation there is run by an old acquaintance, Sabine Jäger. She meets Norbert Blume, who was Josef’s best friend back then. He welcomes her warmly, but asks why she had cut ties with him, too. Josefa explains that she had wanted to erase all memories of that time. Petra initially refuses to have any contact with her and, just as back then, does not want to speak to Josefa. At the time, Josefa had sent Petra the signed divorce papers without comment because, until 15 years ago, transgender people were legally required to get divorced. In her parents’ house, Josefa is confronted with memories of her former life. No one had contacted her in all those years, and no one had even told her that her parents had died. Blume had married his girlfriend Claudia, who died two years ago. He is now in a relationship with Petra. Josefa gets support from her friend Antonia, a dentist, who joins her in Distlfing some time later. Petra tells Josefa that she would have gone with her back then. According to Josefa, however, that would not have been possible, and the divorce was required by law. After falling down the stairs, Josefa is admitted to hospital, where she spends a night under observation. There, she tells Antonia how the rift with her father came about. Josef and Petra had dressed up in costumes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, along with Blume and his girlfriend Claudia. Afterwards, Josef and her father had a fight. During it, her father fell down the same stairs Josefa later fell down. Because of his injuries, he had been confined to a wheelchair ever since. Josef packed all her things and ran away. Magnus shows up at the hospital and wants to take Josefa home. But Josefa decides to stay in Distlfing, and Magnus returns to the city alone. As she is about to leave, Josefa accidentally discovers that she and Petra have a son, Jakob, and a granddaughter, Billy. Petra had kept this from her all these years. Jakob had been told that his grandfather was in a wheelchair because he had fallen from the silo. Billy eventually tells her father that she now has two grandmothers, and he has two mothers.