Berlin – 1^st of May

Berlin – 1. Mai

J.-C. Glaser, C. Ludwig, S. Taddicken, J. Ziemnicki, Germany, 2008, 98 min

In German and Turkish with English subtitles

Canadian premiere

Script: C. Ludwig, M. Proehl, O. Ziegenbalg, J. Ziemnicki

Cast: Benjamin Höppner, Oktay Özdemir, Jacob Matschenz, Ludwig Trepte

Opening Night, Perspective German Cinema, Berlin Film Festival 2008

Sunday, 9 November 2008, at 9:00 p.m

Innis Town Hall

An eleven-year-old Turkish boy, two young men from a small town, and a policeman from the sticks all find their way to Berlin on May Day, where, in the district of Kreuzberg, emotions come to the boil every year.

Little Yavuz is eager to gain recognition and is determined to ‘floor a cop’ in order to impress his older brother. He meets Hary, a onetime member of the student revolts of the late sixties, and things turn out completely differently. Jacob and Pelle from Minden are intent on having an adventure in the capital, drifting between sightseeing, finding the best kebab shop and marching in the protest of the anarchist ‘Black Block’. Uwe and his colleague have been assigned to calm the situation in Kreuzberg, but he finds himself in the midst of a major personal crisis. Will his colleague’s suggestion to seek distraction at a cop-friendly bordello help him out of his doldrums?

Four lives, four different stories and predicaments. Four people who each experience their very own May Day, after which nothing will ever be the same.

Watch trailer: http://www.moviepilot.de/movies/berlin-1-mai/trailers (trailer in German)

Jan-Christoph Glaser, Carsten Ludwig, Sven Taddicken, Jakob Ziemnicki

Glaser’s filmography: “Detroit” (2003) and “Neanderthal” (2006)

Ludwig’s filmography: “Tagediebe” (2000) and “Detroit” (2003)

Taddicken’s filmography: ten films such as “Getting My Brother Laid” (2001), Stay Like This (2002), and Emma's Bliss (2006)

Ziemnicki’s filmography: Der Ball ist verdammt rund (2001), Et kütt wie et kütt (2002), and Tompson Music (2004)