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Der Kuss des Grashüpfers

The Kiss of the Grasshopper
Forum 2025
© Borris Kehl
Bernard, a stoic, middle-aged writer with a sheep for roommate, leads an obsessively structured life in a lavish penthouse overlooking the city of Cologne. When his father Carlos, with whom he shares a knotty relationship, suffers an assault and falls ill, Bernard’s volatile reality grows even more shaky. He is hurled into a series of surreal, enigmatic encounters featuring his drifting girlfriend Agata, a neighbour defying gravity and perhaps time, unconcerned cops, overconcerned functionaries and even a six-foot grasshopper. In his second feature, The Kiss of the Grashopper, Elmar Imanov forges a dark, progressively mysterious odyssey through loss, grief and unexpected compassion. His nakedly psychoanalytical film unfurls like an arcane tapestry, a symbolic minefield overflowing with displaced figures, events and objects whose specific meanings may feel elusive, but whose potency and personal quality are unmistakable. With a rigorous, highly stylized mise en scène, Imanov engineers a visually arresting world governed by dream logic, where the rational casually coexists with the bizarre. The result is a work that never ceases to surprise, confound and provoke thought.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Elmar Imanov (Director, Screenplay)
with Lenn Kudrjawizki, Michael Hanemann, Sophie Mousel, Rasim Jafarov Germany / Luxembourg / Italy 2025 German 128' Colour World premiere

With

  • Lenn Kudrjawizki
  • Michael Hanemann
  • Sophie Mousel
  • Rasim Jafarov

Crew

Director Elmar Imanov
Screenplay Elmar Imanov
Cinematography Borris Kehl
Editing Beppe Leonetti
Music Kyan Bayani
Sound Design Jascha Viehl
Production Design Mariam Iakobashvili, Marie Schäder, Mira Laczkowski, Giorgi Karalashvili
Casting Susanne Ritter
Producer Eva Blondiau
Co-Producers Adolf El Assal, Marta Zaccaron

Produced by

COLOR OF MAY

Köln, Germany

Co-produced by

Wady Films

Differdange, Luxembourg

Incipit Film

Udine, Italy

WDR

Köln, Germany

World Sales

ArtHood Entertainment

Berlin, Germany

Photos

Elmar Imanov

© Eva Blondiau

Elmar Imanov was born in 1985 in Baku, Azerbaijan. He has lived in Cologne since 1998. His graduation film from ifs (2012) was shown at more than 120 film festivals and won 41 awards worldwide, including the Student Oscar® for Best Foreign Film. His next short film Torn (2014) premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section in Cannes. Both films were produced by Eva Blondiau, with whom Imanov founded the film production company COLOR OF MAY. His feature debut End of Season (2019) premiered at IFFR Rotterdam and won the FIPRESCI Prize. The Kiss of the Grasshopper is his second feature film.

Filmography

2012 Die Schaukel des Sargmachers (The Swing of the Coffin Maker); short film 2014 TORN; short film 2019 End of Season 2025 Der Kuss des Grashüpfers (The Kiss of the Grasshopper)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025