WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG

WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG. (WIR SIND JUNG. WIR SIND STARK.), 2014

Germany | DCP, Black & White, 123’ | German

Director: Burhan Qurbani

Cast: Jonas Nay, Trang Le Hong, Devid Striesow, Joel Basman, Saskia Rosendahl

Thexenophobic riots that took place on August 24, 1992 in Rostock shocked the newly unified Germany. The focus of We are Young. We are Strong. is on the events that led up to riots by thousands of people and culminated in the burning of a building that housed Vietnamese immigrants. This frightening day is told through the intersecting stories of three characters: The Vietnamese Lien, who is willing to risk everything to stay in Germany; Stefan, who finds himself at the center of the riots together with his violence-prone friends; and the politician Martin, who can see the events leading up to the riots due to his son Stefan’s situation, but, in the interest of his career, is late in taking action. Featured in many major international festivals throughout the year, We are Young. We are Strong. won the Öngören Award for Democracy and Human Rights, given in honor of Mahmut Tali Öngören at the Nuremberg Turkey - Germany Film Festival.