Sophie Mühe

Eleven short documentaries about eleven youth football teams for different age groups and with varying prospects. This Berlinale project is part of the cultural programme of the 2024 European Football Championship hosted by Germany.

In three forms, we see a young woman trying to accept the present. Each experiences a different facet of loss. The first is planning her mother's funeral, the second is dealing with her brother and the death of their shared father, and the third is trying to move on to a new life. While the protagonists have to decide which garment to wear at the cremation, how to address their brother after years of distance, or what technique to use to cut spare ribs, they move through their worlds with sometimes more, sometimes less humor. And again and again the question arises whether pain can be shared.

The Proletik Sonnenberg fan club supports its team, Athletik Sonnenberg. A newly founded soccer club in Chemnitz, it has set itself the goal of creating a diverse and welcoming atmosphere on the field. But in a city with a right-wing extremist fan scene, the struggle to achieve this is all the more intense.

On birthdays, we look back, celebrate the present, and hope for the future. Ingrid Andree, former actress and grandmother, turns 93 years old. But the spotlight never leaves a former performer. As we drift through the natural melancholy that comes along with celebrating age, she appears to gently drift past the idea of what a birthday means. Somewhere between ritual and theater, we are invited to ask who the performance is really for: ourselves, our loved ones, or the audience of time.