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Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen

Punching the World
Perspectives 2025
© Flare Film / Chromosom Film
Two brothers, twelve-year-old Philipp and nine-year-old Tobias, are growing up in the East German provinces in the early 2000s. Their family is building a house. When Uwe, a gaunt man helping out on the building site, dies, his fate seems to be emblematic of the problems in the region: too much alcohol, no work and a GDR past that is impossible to shake off. When the brothers and their parents move into the unfinished house, the family starts to disintegrate. Their father loses his job while their mother struggles to hold things together. Stuck in the middle, Tobi and Philipp are left to their own devices. In contrast to their suffocating family life, the countryside seems limitless and nature becomes their haven. In a life which otherwise boasts few bright spots or role models, the only other option is a group of older boys who promise adventure but bring violence and xenophobia. Philipp joins them and, for the first time, he feels a sense of purpose and belonging, even if he has to cross legal and moral boundaries. All of these conflicts of conscience and intent escalate when it is announced that a refugee shelter is scheduled to open nearby.
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by Constanze Klaue (Director, Screenplay)
with Anton Franke, Camille Moltzen, Anja Schneider, Christian Näthe, Johannes Scheidweiler, Sammy Scheuritzel, Tilmann Döbler, Moritz Hoyer, Meinhard Neumann, Steffi Kühnert Germany 2025 German 110' Colour World premiere | Debut film

With

  • Anton Franke (Philipp)
  • Camille Moltzen (Tobi)
  • Anja Schneider (Sabine)
  • Christian Näthe (Stefan)
  • Johannes Scheidweiler (Menzel)
  • Sammy Scheuritzel (Philipp 2015)
  • Tilmann Döbler (Tobi 2015)
  • Moritz Hoyer (Ramon)
  • Meinhard Neumann (Uwe)
  • Steffi Kühnert (Mrs. Wenzer)

Crew

Director Constanze Klaue
Screenplay Constanze Klaue
Cinematography Florian Brückner
Editing Emma Alice Gräf, Andreas Wodraschke
Music PC Nackt
Sound Design Paul Rischer
Production Design Uli Friedrichs, Michael Schindlmeier
Casting Johanna Hellwig
Producers Alexander Wadouh, Roxana Richters, Gabriele Simon, Martin Heisler

Produced by

Flare Film

Chromosom Film

World Sales

The Yellow Affair by Newen Connect

Photos

Constanze Klaue

© Flare Film/Chromosom Film

Born in Berlin, Germany, she studied German in Dresden and jazz music in Osnabrück. She then worked as a writer, copywriter and director for an advertising production company in Cologne before studying at the city’s Academy of Media Arts. In 2017/18, she was awarded a scholarship from the Academy for Children’s Media and also won the Boje Baumhaus Media Prize for the development of her novel “Ausgerechnet Mops”. In 2020, her graduation film Lychen 92 won the Max Ophüls Prize and the First Steps Award for Best Medium-Length Film. Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen is her debut feature film.

Filmography (selection)

2018 Alfreds Kurgarten (Alfred’s Hotel); co-director: Philipp Fussenegger 2020 Lychen 92; short film 2025 Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen (Punching the World)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025