Barbara Groben

KÖY (Turkish for village) is about the longing for home, for belonging and the freedom of the self. Three women from three generations are united by their Kurdish roots.

Being alive and having a life are two different things for Ville Jaaranto. Freedom as his dream and equality on his agenda, he sets to travel across Europe by his power wheelchair. While on his journey, he comes to realize that neither he himself nor the world around him are quite ready for it. Crazy dreams are the best cure for a mundane life.

Rudolf Thome’s idiosyncratic oeuvre was created with a continuity rare in German cinema – he has directed 28 feature-length films over more than four decades since 1968. The writing of the script for film no. 29 and the parallel efforts to secure financing form the thread that runs through this cinematic portrait, which consists wholly of conversations and observations around Thome’s home, a converted farm in Brandenburg. The filmmaker is nothing if not forthcoming, and the viewer has the opportunity to experience him in various other roles: as a gardener, a father, a cyclist, and a performer of his own persona.

For a long time, the village of Urlau at the foot of the Allgäu Alps was only known for its ammunition arsenal. Cäcilia Angerer still remembers the looming catastrophe during World War II. But lately Urlau has been sprucing itself up because a huge resort is about to be built where toxic warfare ammunition was once stored. Christian Skrodzki has been planning a community project to give an old factory building in the village a new purpose. The Wehr family has been preparing their vacation apartment for rent. Things are going well for the region, but suddenly it is proclaimed: "Stay home!"

Who picks up when you dial 112? In Berlin, it’s the staff at the fire department’s massive emergency call center. Newcomers are finding their way or giving up, while veterans provide support from the background. Anything can happen at any moment. And then New Year’s Eve arrives.