Young housekeeper Katharina falls for a handsome man at a party – who unbeknownst to her, is a criminal on the run from the police. The night she spends with this alleged terrorist is enough to bring her quiet life into ruins and subject her to police surveillance. Exploited by cheap newspaper sensationalism, Katharina slowly becomes a wider target, with anonymous phonecalls and letters, sexual advances and threats all testing the limits of her dignity and sanity.

Directed with her then-husband Volker Schlöndorff  (The Tin Drum), The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum is a powerful yet sensitive adaptation of Heinrich Böll’s controversial novel. A stinging commentary on state power, individual freedom and media manipulation, the film feels as relevant today as on the day it was released in 1975.

Part of The Personal Is Political: The Films of Margarethe von Trotta. The first female director to win the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, Margarethe von Trotta (1942-) is to thank for some of the most trailblazing films of the past five decades. Often hailed as the world’s leading feminist filmmaker, von Trotta has never shied away from topics that resonate with contemporary lives and prompt revolutionary discussions.

The Personal is Political is a touring programme delivered by the ICO with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery.