In her films, German director and photographer Ulrike Ottinger parodies cinema conventions, searching for new forms of visual pleasure. In doing so, she constantly challenges the viewer’s position. Many of her highly stylised films also contain fantastic elements.

Superbia—Der Stolz is part of the omnibus film Seven Women, Seven Sins, in which Ottinger examines the capital sin of Pride. She presents a carnivalesque haystack as a symbol of human vanities. Archival footage intercuts the procession with memories of political parades that bear witness to similar extravaganza.