Julie's Spirit (2000) Written by Jane Corbett Julia’s Spirit is an exciting, contemporary story about the struggles and mishaps of two young women, thrown together by chance. Their relationship develops via hostility and resentment to friendship and love. What makes it unusual is that one of them is dead. The paths of the two girls converge accidentally as they race across a Berlin street clutching a stolen icon. A car fails to stop and one of them is killed. Natasha, the dead girl, demands that Julia, the survivor, become her reluctant saviour and settles her affairs to allow her spirit to go to rest. And this is the dilemma, because Julia is incapable of looking out for herself, let alone anyone else! The film deals with her journey, from being wholly self-absorbed into being a rounded and compassionate woman. The film, simultaneously both real and magical, is fast moving and funny. Sylvie Testud (winner of the 1998 European Best Actress Award), who plays Julia, and Julia Richter, who plays Natasha, are the two girls. They are sometimes stubborn, often infuriating, but always endearing. They represent strong contemporary characters with whom a modern audience can identify. The background is contemporary Berlin with its distinctive visual landscape which links in to the world of fashion design which Julia inhabits. It is Berlin's unique flavour that informs both Julia and Natasha's vision, the city itself becoming almost as iconic as the stolen painting which motivates the action. And like that painting, Julia comes to learn that it is more of a gift to be bestowed than an asset to be exploited. This is a powerful story of our time, bringing together an international group of richly colourful characters to make a film which will appeal not only to a European audience but to English-speaking viewers all over the world.