Piaffe is a 2022 German-American drama fantasy film directed by Ann Oren and starring Simone Bucio, Sebastian Rudolph, and Simon Jaikiriuma Paetau. The film follows Eva, an introverted and unqualified foley artist who is forced to take on her sister Zara’s job when Zara suffers a nervous breakdown. Eva struggles to create the sounds for a commercial featuring a horse, and then a horsetail starts growing out of her body. Empowered by her tail, she lures a botanist into an affair with a game of submission.
The film premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival on August 8, 2022, and was released in Germany on June 29, 2023.
About the movie
Unexpectedly thrown into a sound foley job for a commercial featuring a horse, Eva feels introverted and unqualified. However, as she gets more comfortable with the task, she starts to become obsessed with creating the ideal horse sounds. This passion leads her to a newfound physicality and confidence that she uses to draw an unsuspecting botanist into an intriguing game of domination. Captured on 16mm film, PIAFFE is a visual journey that explores themes of control, gender, and artifice.
Release Date
August 25, 2023 (United States)
The Cast
Sebastian Rudolph
Bjørn Melhus
Lea Draeger
Josef Ostendorf
Piaffe
Movie title: Piaffe
Movie description: When her sibling Zara suffers a nervous breakdown, the introvert Eva is forced to take on Zara’s job as a Foley artist. She struggles to create sounds for a commercial featuring a horse, and then a horsetail starts growing out of her body. Empowered by her tail, she lures a botanist into an affair, through a game of submission. Piaffe is a visceral journey into control, gender, and artifice.
Date published: August 21, 2023
Country: Germany
Duration: 86 mins
Director(s): Ann Oren
Writer(s): Thais Guisasola
Actor(s): Simone Bucio, Simon(è) Jaikiriuma Paetau, Sebastian Rudolph, Bjørn Melhus, Lea Draeger
Genre: Drama
Companies: Schuldenberg Films
