German Documentary Showcase

Central Airport THF

Expired March 3, 2021 6:00 AM
Already unlocked? for access
Protected ContentThis content can only be viewed in authorized regions: United States of America.

This impeccably photographed documentary chronicles a year in the lives of asylum seekers in Berlin’s historic Tempelhof, a former airport expanded by the Nazi government as a symbol of Hitler’s Germania. The irony of the situation is not lost on Aïnouz or his subjects. Ibrahim, an 18-year-old from Syria, is studying German and waiting for his status to change from the uncertain “protected” category to the more secure “refugee.” Qutaiba, a 35-year-old physiotherapist from Iraq who was forced to flee before completing medical school, is volunteering at the clinic as a translator. The airport has become a city within a city, with box homes, spaces for the provision of healthcare, a barbershop, table tennis, and even a modest Christmas market. The men and women who work in the shelter try to accord some dignity to the thousands of people in limbo there. Central Airport THF is a moving portrait of displaced people in transition, and its focus on the positive implies that Germany might be one of the few European countries generous enough to welcome them to a new home.

  • Year
    2018
  • Runtime
    100 minutes
  • Language
    English, Arabic, German, Russian
  • Country
    Germany, France, Brazil
  • Premiere
    Berlinale 2018
  • Note
    With English subtitles
  • Director
    Karim Aïnouz
  • Producer
    Felix von Boehm, Charlotte Uzu, Diane Maia
  • Cinematographer
    Juan Sarmiento G.
  • Editor
    Felix von Boehm
  • Sound Design
    Moritz Unger
  • Music
    Benedikt Schiefer