Barbara Sukowa, actress

Making her debut in television, Barbara Sukowa made a name for herself on the big screen in 1981 in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta – a director with whom she would work multiple times. In one strong woman role after another, her intense, visceral yet disciplined acting allowed her to portray complex and ambivalent characters, cementing her as one of the greatest actresses in German cinema. The Cinémathèque québécoise is presenting five films in which she starred.