If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile

 If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile / Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst

Marie Luise Lehner, Austria, 2025, 87′ 

In high school, Anna struggles with feelings of shame stemming from her social background. A story of belonging, caring for others, friendship, and solidarity, set to a rich soundtrack. 

Twelve-year-old Anna switches from middle school to high school. Things are quite different here: the children in the new school come from a completely different social class. Anna feels ashamed of her background and her deaf mother. During the ski week, Anna must pretend to be sick. The money set aside for the ski course is spent on buying a sofa bed, which should enable her mother to have a sexual relationship, but also provide the daughter with a bit more privacy. Mara, a friend in class, becomes an ally when it turns out that she also is hiding a secret.  

“Film always offers the opportunity to show utopias. On the other hand, I also show a realistic idea of how a society can be and sometimes is. There are no simple answers to complicated questions in the world. There are only more complicated answers. /…/ ‘If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart Into Your Mouth and Smile’ is a movie about class differences. A film about closeness between a mother and a child, but also about closeness between people in general. It is about deafness and about finding yourself. Where you want to belong. To your own desire. About gender identity. From shame to pride.” – Marie Luise Lehner 

Marie Luise Lehner was born in 1995 and lives in Vienna. A filmmaker, author and punk musician. After studying at the Institut für Sprachkunst at the University of Applied Arts, she studied screenwriting at the Film Academy Vienna. She is pursuing master’s degrees in directing at the Film Academy and in contextual painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. She has written scripts, prose and two novels. Her short films have been shown at various international film festivals and her literary works have received many prizes. Since 2012, she has caused a furore with her feminist punk band Schapka. 

Talk: Marie Luise Lehner