Dietmar Kraus

Sophie and Georg once loved each other, but now they have split up. Almost the entire film takes place in front of the same doorway in Berlin. In an elliptical way, the individual scenes portray a family for whom the word patchwork is the new normal — and take a laconic look at the everyday irrationalities of love.

The mysteriously familiar face of a deceased young woman shakes young surgeon Fabian out of his lethargy. On a whim, he leaves Berlin for Portugal, determined to win back his former girlfriend Doro, who works at an architectural company in Lisbon.

Thirteen German directors present short films exploring the state of their country.

After her release from prison Alex, who has lost her faith in love, tries to reclaim her psychic balance through a retreat into loneliness. A man and a child interrupt her plan and force her to reengage. Alex dares to emerge from her shell and learns again how thin the ice is and how fragile happiness is, small though it may be.

A portrait of Rita, who claims that her mother was never a mother for her. Rita gives birth to her own five children and forces her mother to take the role of a mother.

Lynn (22) lives with her brother in Berlin. There she enjoys the advantages of family life, without really feeling involved in it. She does not have any precise aim in life, but manages to awaken the interest of many people with her direct and spontaneous character. Her boyfriend David is very different: he is entirely engrossed in his very disciplined swimming training for the world championships. David does not intend to allow himself to be distracted by the complicating factors of a relationship with Lynn. When Lynn, working behind the till of restaurant, meets the Japanese student Koji, everything gets more complicated. They can't exchange many words, but it is soon clear that their moments together mean a lot to both of them.