FAMILY MATINEE | US PREMIERE
Presented as a free Family Matinee screening on
Sunday, October 13th @ 11:00 AM at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.
Q&A with writer-director Soleen Yusef to follow the screening
Admission is free with RSVP below.
Capacity is limited.
RSVP holders will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Light refreshments provided
Germany (2024) 119 min. DCP Projection. German/English with English Subtitles
Writer-Director Soleen Yusef
Cinematographer Konstantin Kröning
Cast Dileyla Agirman, Andreas Döhler, Tamira Bwibo, Sherine Ciara Merai, Yumin Hannah Cho, Anisa Perk, Artemis Kostopoulou
Producers Sonja Schmitt, Marc Schmidheiny, Christoph Daniel
Co-producers Dario Suter, Joel Brandeis, Detlev Buck, Claus Boje
Production Company DCM Pictures GmbH
Co-production Company Boje Buck Produktion
The first day at a new school can be tough for any kid, but for 11-year-old Mona it’s downright chaotic. She and her Kurdish family have fled their home in Syria and ended up in Germany in search of a better life, but Mona is having a hard time fitting in. She’s still learning German and misses her hometown and playing soccer with her friends. Chaos is the order of the day at her new school, where most of the teachers are worn to a frazzle and the students are just as frustrated with their teachers. When Mr. Che, the coach of the girls’ soccer team sees Mona’s soccer skills, he puts her on the team. Although they are training for an upcoming tournament for all of Berlin’s schools, the team is anything but harmonious. Mona is singled-out and is blamed for the team’s troubles. With the tournament quickly approaching, they realize that if they want to win, they must stop fighting, treat each other as equals, and learn the true meaning of teamwork. Winner of the 2024 German Film Award for Best Children’s Film, Yusuf’s second feature is an inspirational, fast-paced coming-of-age film with a fresh, young perspective on the importance of family, friendship, and belonging.
AWARDS
German Film Award 2024 Best Children’s Film
Giffoni Film Festival Best Film Elements +10
FBW 2024 Seal of Approval: Highly Recommended
Deutsches Kinder Medien Festival Goldener Spatz 2024 Best Screenplay
© Curtis Brown
Soleen Yusef was born in Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 1987. At the age of nine she and her family fled to Berlin, Germany due to the political tensions in her home country. She graduated from high school in Berlin and later attended the Academy of Stage Arts, where she trained as a singer and an actress, and worked as an assistant in production, directing and distribution at mîtos film. In 2008, she began studying fiction directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her third-year film TRATTORIA premiered at the 2012 Berlinale. Since making her debut feature film HAUS OHNE DACH (2016), for which she won awards including the First Steps Award, she has been working on international productions for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. Soleen Yusef is one of GERMAN FILMS’ 2024 Face to Face with German Films ambassadors.
WORLD SALES
PLUTO FILM
www.plutofilm.de
The German Currents Film Festival is produced by the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the American Cinematheque in kind cooperation with the German Consulate General, and with the support of Condor, The Friends of Goethe, ELMA, The Villa Aurora, and the German Film Office
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