CARE

CARE

by | Sep 8, 2025

3

CARE

Zsóka is a Hungarian mother living in Berlin. She returns for the summer vacation near Lake Balaton. During the holiday, she gets to know a woman from the village and her two boys. She suspects that the woman is emotionally and physically abusing the boys. She tries to establish a connection with her to convince herself that her suspicions are unfounded, but the situation becomes more and more obvious. During the usual visits from friends and trips to the beach her thoughts are preoccupied with the dilemma: what can she do, or rather, should she do anything at all? She becomes oppressed by her own passivity and the weight of responsibility that would come with concrete action. One upsetting night pushes her over the edge, and she files a report at the child protective services which starts an avalanche of events she can no longer control.

Credits

Director: Marcell Gerő
Screenplay: Marcell Gerő und Oliver Keidel
Producer: Campfilm Budapest (Sárà Lazlo, Marcell Gerő), Schiwago Film (Marcos Kantis, Melanie Blocksdorf, Martin Lehwald)

Funded by

The Matriarch

The Matriarch

by | Jul 22, 2025

The Matriarch

17-year-old Kim longs for nothing more than the approval of her emotionally distant mother. Together with her little brother Bao, the two women live in a high-rise apartment on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, which contains a secret room. Every week, complete strangers come and go from this room—because Kim’s mother runs an illegal smuggling operation, helping people from Vietnam get into Europe, and uses the income to support their extended family back home. The mother wants a better future for her daughter and insists that Kim focus on getting good grades and finishing school with a strong diploma. But Kim has different plans. She wants to work alongside her mother and prove that she’s worthy of becoming her successor one day.

When Luc, her mother’s closest associate, suddenly leaves and opens a rival smuggling agency, Kim sees her chance. She begins to take over Luc’s responsibilities and becomes increasingly involved in the smuggling operation. This shared work begins to draw mother and daughter closer together. At the same time, however, Kim is exposed to the harshness and brutality her mother faces daily in her line of work. Gradually, Kim starts to push her own limits—acting more radically than her nature would normally allow.

Credits

Cast: Lissy-Marie Phuing Linh, Tuyen Do, Trang Le Hong, Marlon Leyck, Viet Pham

Director and Screenwriter: Alison Kuhn
Producer: Martin Lehwald
Producer: Philipp Goeser
Cinematography: Jan Mayntz
Editing: Christian Zipfel
Sound: Albrecht Ihlenburg
Casting: Stephanie Maile
Set Design: Lucia Eifler

Editor: Christian Cloos for ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel

Matröshki

Matröshki

by | Jul 18, 2025

Matröshki

What if the greatest rebellion is
not becoming your mother?
Maybe because your mother learned how to survive — and you’re finally trying to start living.

MATRÖSHKI – a tragicomedy across generations, ideologies, and female contradictions.
A film about mothers and daughters. About loyalty and betrayal.
About escape, language, and origin – and the question of how much of your family still lives inside you, even when you’re trying to go in a completely different direction.

Credits

Cast: Janina (Jana) Lissovskaia, Varvara Shmykova, Adina Maaß, Eva Maria Oganyesya, Rafael Klein-Hessling, Sascha Geršak, Egor Morozov, Barbara Colceriu, Irina Platon, Angelique Princelle, Valery Tscheplanowa, Anne Ratte-Polle

Director: Alina Yklymova
Screenplay: Alina Yklymova & Lion Durst
Producer: Martin Lehwald
Producers: Simon Grohe, Tim Peters
Line Producer: Priska Kraft
Creative Producer: Sophia Stier
Executive Producer: Felix Ruple
Casting: Jessica Layer
Cinematography: Sina Diehl
Production Design: Mareike Rückert
Costumes: Stephanie Zurstegge
Editing: Lucas Cantera
Sound: Friedrich Haustein
Composer: Torsten Brandes, Sophia Sämann
Editors: Jan Berning (SWR), Andrea Hanke (WDR), Erin Högerle (HR)

Thanks for Nothing

Thanks for Nothing

by | Jul 17, 2025

3

Thanks for Nothing

The four friends Katharina, Ricky, Malou and Victoria live together in a sheltered housing project. With the support of their corrupt social worker, Ballack, they have created a world in which their own rules prevail. There are no parents, no school and no other obligations. However, the youth welfare office is breathing down their necks and trying to destroy their little anarchic paradise. Katharina’s repeated suicide attempts in particular attract the attention of the social services. If she is caught doing it again, the four of them will lose their apartment. But Katharina has no intention of getting older than 17, and her birthday is already two weeks away. Her friends try to protect Katharina from the outside world and cover up the suicide attempts.
Credits

Cast: Lea Drinda, Sonja Weißer, Safinaz Sattar, Zoe Stein, Jan Bülow, Sophie Rois, Ludger Bökelmann, Kathrin Angerer and many more

Screenplay: Stella Marie Markert
Director: Stella Marie Markert
Cinematography: Edgar Fischnaller, Jonas Kolahdoozan
Editing: Vreni Sarnes
Sound: Yunzheng Hu, Henrik Gueffroy
Music: Rosa Lee Luna Markert
Casting: Liza Stutzky, Andrea Rodríguez
Production Design: Fritzi Heubaum
Producer: Luc Vincent Hinrichsen
Production Management: Anna-Katrin Winkler
Producers: Martin Lehwald, Marcos Kantis

A production by Schiwago Film and Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
Co-Production with ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel
Funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
In cooperation with: Young Talent Foundation Berlin

Year of Production: 2025

Festival Participation
  • 42nd Film Festival Munich 2025
  • Oldenburg International Film Festival 2025
  • Leipzig Film Art Fair 2025
  • 29th PÖFF Tallinn 2025

The Academy

The Academy

by | Dec 30, 2024

The Academy

A young, idealistic student seeks her way as an artist in the adventurous and ruthless world of an art academy and becomes part of a colourful community of artists and professors who all struggle with the absurdities of life, love and the art world.

Credits

Cast: Maja Bons, Luise Aschenbrenner, Jean-Marc Barr, Andreas Lust, Isolde Barth, Christoph Luser, Jörg Besser, Joscha Baltha, Dagobert, Jan Tsien Beller, Felix Phönix Lehmann, Jonathan Joél Albrecht, Miguel Abrantes Ostrowski, Janusz Szczurowski, Michael Brandner

Written by: Camilla Guttner
Director: Camilla Guttner
Director of Photography: Luca Bigazzi
Editors: Beatrice Babin, Christian Bach
Sound: Alex Rubin
Composers: Ege Ateslioglu, Meerkat Meerkat (Songs)
Casting: Anja Dihrberg
Production Design: Markus Dicklhuber
Costume: Mara Laibacher, Luisa Rauschert
Make-up: Julia Schlotke, Steffen Roßmanith
Producers: Marcos Kantis (Schiwago Film), Korbinian Kalleder (SuperCine), Josef Brandmaier (Penned Pictures), Camilla Guttner (Standing Ovation Production)
Commissioning Editor: Corinna Liedtke, Anke Hirschel (WDR), Birgit Kämper (ARTE), Nathalie Lambsdorff (BR)
Funded by: FilmFernsehFonds Bavaria, German Federal Film Fund, German Federal Film Board FFA, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM)

Year of production: 2024

Festival Participation
  • 41st Film Festival Munich 2024
  • 18th Ahrenshoop Film Nights 2024
  • 33rd Raindance Film Festival
Awards

Bavarian Film Award for Best Emerging Actress 2025 to Maja Bons