Katharina Mueckstein made her feature debut with 2013’s “Talea.” She is the co-founder of production company La Banda Film.

“L’animale” will premiere at the 2018 Berlinale on February 18.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

KM: Mati and her parents, Paul and Gabriele, live a seemingly settled life in the outskirts of Vienna. Paul and Gabriele have good jobs and all they need to do is finish up their newly constructed family home in the woods.

Mati is the only girl in a gang of tough boys. They cruise the rural streets on their motocross bikes and bully girls. Mati identifies with the guys. She wants to take part in their freedom to do what they want — to misbehave, and to feel powerful and privileged. But when her best friend Sebastian — who is also the leader of the gang — wants her to change from buddy to girlfriend Mati slowly starts to lose her secure position with the boys.

Simultaneously Mati meets Carla, a less privileged but rather determined and autonomous girl. This new friendship seems to open a whole new universe for Mati.

[While all of this is going on] Gabriele realizes that Paul has a secret, and the parents have to make a decision: confront the truth or stick with the lie.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

KM: Matters of identity and gender roles as well as the interdependence of the personal and the political have been my focus of interest for a long time. I studied philosophy and gender studies before film school. It was just natural for me to write a script around these themes.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

KM: I want people to feel encouraged to emancipate themselves from societal expectation and pressure. I would like the audience to be emotionally connected to the characters and maybe realize that there might be no such thing as total freedom, but while we’re trying to free ourselves there are great things we could experience.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

KM: We had to cast many young people to find a good group of teenage actors. Also, the actors had to learn how to ride motocross bikes.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

KM: My film was entirely funded by state/regional art funding. Every stage of script and project development as well as production and post-production were financed by applying for funds.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at the Berlinale?

KM: I have been to the Berlinale a couple of times and have always loved the programming. To be part of it now with my second feature film is a great satisfaction.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

KM: Best advice: Build alliances with people you really like to be strong when there is crisis.

Worst advice: Adapt to the system.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

KM: Solidarity is the key to power.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

KM: Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail.” I love Agnès Godard’s camera work in this film. The way the director and DOP look at masculinity: The tenderness and brutality, and the strong and focused framing of bodies, combine to make “Beau Travail” one of the most beautiful films I have seen.

Denis’ films inspired me to become a filmmaker myself when I was still in highschool.

W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women and some men in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What do you think of the recently announced anti-sexual harassment Commission made up of industry leaders? Do you believe that it will help make systemic change? What do you think needs to be done to address this issue?

KM: #MeToo and all that followed it is a great moment in the history of the entertainment business. I think it is very important that the public — the audience — finally gets to see what the women in the business have known for a long time.

It’s up to us: We have the power to no longer reproduce stereotypical gender roles in our films and thereby change social norms. As long as we stick to conservative values and norms in front of the camera there will be no equality behind the camera.

Also, the film industry is only a mirror of what is happening in our society. Discrimination and harassment can no longer be tolerated and I am sure there will be a future of equal chances, equal fame, and equal payment for all genders. To get there as a society we have to confront the history of our culture — a culture of patriarchy — and let go of stereotypes. It is something we have to do as a collective and as individuals at the same time.