SYNOPSIS

A summer day. Hot, even humid. Otherwise, it‘s just like always. Just before gym class at a nameless boarding school in a nameless region in a nameless South-Germany. But 17-year-old SIMON stays in the boys‘ locker room. He doesn‘t change his clothes. He does not follow the others into the gym. An impulse, short, spontaneous and invisible. That‘s all it is. And Simon turns around and walks out in the direction of the train station. Simon thinks of nothing. Actually, he‘s not thinking about home either, where he‘s going now. Just because he has to go somewhere. To the single-family housing estate of a saturated middle class. To the bored cat.

When he arrives, he happens to meet his former classmate, Enes, who is on his way to the riverbank to go swimming with some friends. And Enes persuades Simon to come along. Between lethargically floating air mattresses, ignorant silence or even half-hearted attempts at contact, Simon soon regrets his decision. Only when MARIE shows up, Simons dull afternoon seems to take a turn after all. An unexpected incident catapults the two into the middle of the overgrown river valley. A natural in-between realm, with its own space and time coordinates, with unknown options and disturbing noise. In a game of artificial delays and awkward approaches, Simon and Marie feel their way towards each other.

But even as they sit close to each other in the back seat of a car later, their approach remains hesitant and shy. It‘s still hot, even humid - existentialism in the province.

CREW

script & direction & montage WILLY HANS cinematography PAUL SPENGEMANN gaffer MARVIN HESSE set & costume design JAKOB SPENGEMANN, JIMENA CUGAT, STELLA ROSSIÉ sound recording MARCO TEUFEN compositions ISOLÉE, DANIEL HOBI, CHRISTOPH BLAWERT assistant director SALKA TIZIANA first assistant camera JOHANNES PÄCH second assistant camera VANESSA BLÄTTLER, CAROLINE HEPTING dit BRUNO CONTI grip NINO BURKART, ENRIQUE ZALOTAY electrician TOM OTTE, FABIO STECHER, NICOLAS DUC, GREG AMGWERD, DAMIAN PETERS set design assistance NURA EISSA costume assistance LISA HOPPE make-up supervisor MARINA AEBI intern set design HELENE ZIMMERMANN
location scout JIMENA CUGAT casting BABET MADER additional casting FELIX MARIA ZEPPENFELD, RHEA PLANGG, KATRIN VORDERWÜLBECKE production manager FLORIAN WIDMEIER location manager NICOLE SCHWIZGEBEL set manager VICTOR FLORES, CHRISTIAN ANSONIA, HARRISON KREMO helping hand TONI BREITSPRECHER
catering FRANK SCHEUFFELE, CONI HILTEBRAND, BACIO LUPAIO sound design CORNELIA BÖHM foley MELANIE JILG, CORNELIA BÖHM sound mix & dialogue editing DANIEL HOBI colors FLORIAN STAERK title design STUDIO HANLI mastering TIM LIEBE subtitles MAYA CONNORS dramaturgy DOMINIK BUCHER, FRANZ RODENKIRCHEN, BIRGIT GLOMBITZA, JAN EICHBERG, OLAF HELD additional montage MATTHIAS GRAATZ

Feature
94 minutes | Germany, Switzerland 2024

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starring LEO KONRAD KUHN, ALVA SCHÄFER, SHADI ECK, FELIX MARIA ZEPPENFELD, DARJA MAHOTKIN, MALENE BECKER, CHARLOTTE HOVENBITZER, LASSE STADELMANN, RUBY M. LICHTENBERG, SINA GENSCHEL, RUMO WEHRLI, MATTHIAS NEUKIRCH, MICHAEL NEUENSCHWANDER, VALENTINA FISCHLI, ANOUK BARAKAT

funded by DIE BEAUFTRAGTE DER BUNDESREGIERUNG FÜR KULTUR UND MEDIEN, BUNDESAMT FÜR KULTUR SCHWEIZ, MOIN FILMFÖRDERUNG HAMBURG SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, DEUTSCHER FILMFÖRDERFONDS supported by ARRI - INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM

produced by FÜNFERFILM & 8HORSES producer switzerland MICHELA PINI, MATTHAIS HUSER producer germany US production assistant ARIANE POCHON, MICOL FAVINI accountant SERGIO VIGNATI intern SABRINA BHATTI lawyer PHILIPP SCHIFFMANN

SCREENINGS

77th Locarno Film Festival (world premiere and special mention) 2024
Sarajevo Film Festival 2024
La Roche sur Yon 2024
Ghent International Film Festival 2024
Filmfest Hamburg 2024
Nordische Filmtage Lübeck 2024
Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg 2024