Willi Andrick

On the grounds of a medieval German university town looms an imposing Ginkgo biloba, a tree whose longevity stands in marked contrast to three intimate, human-scaled stories. In 1908, the university’s first female student gains admission into the prestigious botany department, confronting the sexism of both professors and peers. In 1972, amidst counterculture movements, a reserved student finds his attention captured by a fellow housemate and the geranium plant she studies. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong secures the help of a renowned botanist for an experiment on the old Ginkgo tree.

Beatrice, a gynecologist seeking escape in Berlin’s club scene, and Alex, a defiant trans club manager juggling parenthood and protest, begin to fight for the right to their bodies and discover unexpected support in each other while facing difficulties of what is expected of them. Although they could not be more different, a close friendship develops between them, which soon ends up in a new understanding of what family means.