Leon and Felix’s plan was to spend the summer together in a holiday home on the Baltic coast. They wanted to be there as friends but also to work – one on his second book, the other assembling his art portfolio. But Nadja and Devid are also there, and they bring lots of positive vibes with them. Four young people experimenting with love, even though this does not come easy to Leon. His unfinished manuscript haunts him wherever he goes, whether he is at the summerhouse or the beach. The others’ good mood often causes his to plummet. A visit from his publisher is imminent. But, as the latter arrives in his nifty small car, the forest begins to blaze. It rains ash, the sky turns red, and a relationship-drama that merges physical intensity and artistic sublimation takes a turn into a new dimension.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Berlin ’23 – Grand Jury Prize, Nominated for Golden Berlin Bear
European Film Awards ’23 – Nomination for European actor
San Sebastian ’23 – Nomination for Best Film
Christian Petzold
Born in Hilden, Germany in 1960, he has lived in Berlin since 1981. He studied German and drama at Freie Universität Berlin and then, from 1988 to 1994, film at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). His films often explore themes such as identity, history, memory, and personal freedom, placing his characters in morally and emotionally complex situations. He directed his first feature film in 1995. Made in 2000, his film “The State I Am In” won Gold at the German Film Awards; he was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director for “Barbara” in 2012. “Afire” marks his fifth film presented in the Berlinale Competition and, following “Transit” and “Undine”, his third collaboration with Paula Beer. “Mirrors No. 3” is their fourth film together.
1995 Pilots (Pilotinnen) – TV Film
1996 Cuba Libre – TV Film
1998 The Sex Thief (Die Beischlafdiebin) – TV Film
2000 The State I Am In (Die innere Sicherheit)
2001 Something to Remind Me (Toter Mann) – TV Film
2003 Wolfsburg
2005 Gespenster
2007 Yella
2008 Jerichow
2012 Barbara
2014 Phoenix
2018 Transit
2020 Undine
2023 Afire
2025 Mirrors № 3
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