Christiane F.

Dir. Uli Edel
West Germany, 1981
Digital Projection, 138 min.

Based on the true story of one teenager's descent into heroin-addicted hell, CHRISTIANE F. is a grim coming-of-age cult classic. Thirteen-year-old Christiane (Natja Brunckhorst) lives with her mother and younger sister in a typical multi-storey apartment building in Berlin. When Christiane is introduced to the disco scene, she falls in with a new group of friends and gradually becomes addicted to heroin. She finds companionship with fourteen-year-old Detlev (Thomas Haustein) as they familiarise themselves with a world beyond their years while lingering around the notorious Bahnhof Zoo station.

Captured through a gritty low-budget lens, the film is a raw portrayal of lost innocence. Featuring a soundtrack of songs from David Bowie's 1977-79 Berlin phase, as well as a stunning concert performance of ‘Station to Station’, the film masterfully captures the hopes and fears of a lost generation of Berlin youth, set against the backdrop of the disco scene of the late 1970's.

Presented in partnership with Chicago Filmmakers.