An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis (Welket Bungué) vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany — without papers, without a nationality and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control. Winner, Outstanding Feature Film, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Albrecht Schuch), Best Film Score, Best Production Design and Best Cinematography, 2020 German Film Awards; Winner, Eurimages Award, 2020 Rotterdam International Film Festival; Winner, Best Actor (Welket Bungué) and Best Film, 2020 Stockholm Film Festival. Official Selection, 2020 Berlin, Moscow and Busan film festivals.
- Year2020
- Runtime183 minutes
- LanguageGerman
- CountryGermany, Netherlands
- RatingNOT RATED
- NoteWith English subtitles.
- DirectorBurhan Qurbani
- ScreenwriterBurhan Qurbani, Martin Behnke, from the novel by Alfred Döblin
- ProducerLeif Alexis, Jochen Laube, Fabian Maubach
- CastWelket Bungué, Jella Haase, Albrecht Schuch, Joachim Król, Annabelle Mandeng, Nils Verkooijen, Richard Fouofie Djimeli, Thelma Buabeng, Faris Saleh, Michael Davies, Lena Schmidtke
An African immigrant struggles to make a new life for himself in the big city in director-co-writer Burhan Qurbani's (WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG.) audacious, neon-lit reinterpretation of Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel. After surviving his perilous journey, Francis (Welket Bungué) vows to be a good man, but he soon realizes how difficult it is to be righteous while undocumented in Germany — without papers, without a nationality and without a work permit. When he receives an enticing offer for easy money from the psychopathic gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch), Francis initially resists temptation, but eventually he is sucked into Berlin's underworld and his life spirals out of control. Winner, Outstanding Feature Film, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Albrecht Schuch), Best Film Score, Best Production Design and Best Cinematography, 2020 German Film Awards; Winner, Eurimages Award, 2020 Rotterdam International Film Festival; Winner, Best Actor (Welket Bungué) and Best Film, 2020 Stockholm Film Festival. Official Selection, 2020 Berlin, Moscow and Busan film festivals.
- Year2020
- Runtime183 minutes
- LanguageGerman
- CountryGermany, Netherlands
- RatingNOT RATED
- NoteWith English subtitles.
- DirectorBurhan Qurbani
- ScreenwriterBurhan Qurbani, Martin Behnke, from the novel by Alfred Döblin
- ProducerLeif Alexis, Jochen Laube, Fabian Maubach
- CastWelket Bungué, Jella Haase, Albrecht Schuch, Joachim Król, Annabelle Mandeng, Nils Verkooijen, Richard Fouofie Djimeli, Thelma Buabeng, Faris Saleh, Michael Davies, Lena Schmidtke