Florian Riegel

Although a lowlander, Marco is a robust fellow. He is now working as a farmhand for mountain farmer Alois in a remote Swiss alpine village and, even at the regulars’ table at the local inn, people are slowly learning to appreciate this iced tea drinker. Anna is a local village girl; she has a daughter, Julia, from a previous relationship. Some doubt whether this new relationship will work out – but not Marco or Anna. They get married. Their love is gentle and beautiful; unable to fully fathom it, they express it in simple words. The trust between them grows and their tenderness endures; the happiness they feel at every touch is only surpassed by the warmth of stroking a cow. But soon Marco seems to be losing control of his impulses more and more often.

Forced into homelessness, Melli, a single mother, takes her son Ben to a forest. There they build a makeshift camp, set back from the paths so that no one can find them. They think this solution is only temporary. Melli firmly believes their lives will improve soon, a feeling that is strengthened when she is employed as a trainee flight attendant. Unlike Melli, Ben actually enjoys the exciting camp trip. Life under difficult conditions further strengthens the bond between mother and son.

Hillbrow, a Johannesburg district bristling with buildings, on whose concrete reverberates the incessant maelstrom of street sounds. This overpopulated suburb, where life is cheap, is the playground of Tebogo and Karabo. Aged around fifteen, not very interested in school, in conflict with their mothers who are raising them alone and leave them a little to themselves, the two friends spend the summer relieving their boredom as best as they can. When they are not mixing with the groups of their elders, dancing in underground car parks or drifting through the urban hell, they seem to watch over the city by seeking refuge on the roof of their block.

Marija, a young Ukrainian woman, earns a living as a cleaning woman in a hotel in Dortmund, but dreams of having her own hairstyling salon, and puts away some money each month. But when she is fired without notice, her dream is suddenly postponed to an uncertain future. Jobless and under financial pressure, she is forced to look for alternatives but, in order to achieve her goal, she is ready to discard her body, her social relationships and her own feelings.

Janis was paralysed at the age of 22 and since has spent her time mostly in bed. She looks at the outside world via a surveillance camera connected to her laptop. Through the camera she can keep an eye on everything that would otherwise remain hidden from her - the living room, the kitchen and especially the life outside her front door.

Janis was paralysed at the age of 22 and since has spent her time mostly in bed. She looks at the outside world via a surveillance camera connected to her laptop. Through the camera she can keep an eye on everything that would otherwise remain hidden from her - the living room, the kitchen and especially the life outside her front door.