Christin-Marlen Freyler

Freja lives in a youth detention center. Her little brother lives with a foster family. Her mother is gone. To reunite her family, Freja would do anything. She desperately wants to lead her loved ones out of the dark by taking them back home to the northern lights. But everybody has to let go someday.

In the Ukrainian Carpathians, large Western companies threaten to destroy the existence of the forestry owned by Sylwia’s family. In order to make some urgently needed money, Sylwia agrees to help smuggle refugees across the nearby external EU border.

Samuel and Theo are two Germans stranded in Vietnam. Lethargic and sweaty, they spend their time in a bar called Jolly Rogers, a place where all sense of time is lost. In loose snippets, the two converse about their failed life plans and how they finally want to land the big coup. But who are Samuel and Theo actually waiting for?

Seven-year-old Oskar lives in his own world. Other kids avoid him. He enjoys walking around outside and recording sounds with his toy tape recorder. At a family gathering, Oskar overhears a conversation between two adults that will change his life and worldview forever.