A “torrential hormonal cocktail of emotions,” bliss but also strain—the postpartum period shapes the lives and emotions of Judith, Doris, Nina, Ludisis, and Luise, whom Josephine Ahnelt portrays in her observant documentary. In warm, intimate 16mm images she moves close capturing bonding and love, but also depression, worry, and the sense of losing one’s own identity. A film that offers insight into a normality that usually remains hidden.

Dir. Josephine Ahnelt | 73min | 2026 | Austria

"a gentle but truthful look at new motherhood....having a tiny baby does not put you in perpetual state of bliss. The reality is exhaustion, joy, boredom, wonder and a rush of other feelings. Director Josephine Ahnelt shoots in 16mm, her camera up close, filming with the intimacy of a home video, cutting off heads to at one point zero in on what interests her: a mother snipping her baby’s tiny fingernails" - Guardian

"What makes Wellen Wende special is Josephine Ahnelt’s dedication to analogue filmmaking: shot on 16mm, there was no material to waste, leading to a focused way of observing occurrences, procedures and motion sequences – like rocking a baby to sleep or caressing the tiny human’s tummy or back. Details in tight close-ups dominate, trusting then synching the camera’s gaze and movement with the rhythm of daily life, which propels the film as a whole. A gentle, curious and informative conversational documentary that finds its sublime beauty as well as its intellectual depth in its dedication to the ordinary and its trust in life itself, whatever the challenges one faces on the way" - Int. Film Fest Rotterdam

"Ahnelt shot Waves Turn on Super 16mm film and the warm, grainy textures of the film stock echo in repeated imagery of tactility and touch. The film dwells in the poetry of intimate gestures that accumulate gently, caught in the flicker of early-morning light: a baby’s fist curled around an index finger or the long, gentle stroke of a tummy" - Alchemy Film Festival