I WAS AT HOME, BUT…

I WAS AT HOME, BUT… (ICH WAR ZUHAUSE, ABER…), 2019
Germany, Sırbistan | DCP, 105', Color | German
Director: Angela Schanelec
Cast: Maren Eggert, Jakob Lassalle, Clara Möller, Franz Rogowski, Lilith Stangenberg

One day, the 13 year-old Philipp disappears. A week later, he returns, but doesn’t talk about what happened. Philipp’s single mother Astrid and his teachers have no idea why he was lost and how he returned; they can only make assumptions. They think that his father’s death might be a reason, but they can’t make any sense of Philipp’s actions. As Astrid begins to question her bourgeois life and her career in the cultural arena of Berlin, Philipp is taken to the hospital due to a sepsis. Ridden with anxiety, feelings of failure and guilt, Astrid is inconsolable. Still, neither Philipp nor his little sister ever thinks to oppose their mother. As their family ties are slowly coming loose, they simultaneously start mending them. Film critic Neil Young describes Angela Schanelec's new film as “A complex, challenging but brilliant work.” One of the most mysterious and dramatic films of Schanelec, I was at home, but is a reflection of the language of art and life with its modest formal consistency.

2019 Berlin Best Director