new wave films
West
A film by Christian Schwochow
Synopsis
Between the years 1949 and 1990 roughly four million people left the GDR for West Germany. “WEST” (adapted from the book Lagerfeuer Julia Franck – now published as West in English by Harvill Secker/Vintage Books) tells the story of a young mother, who together with her son, leaves the GDR to try for a new beginning in the West. But she discovers she has to undergo more interrogations by the Allied secret services who treat many refugees with the suspicion that they may be working for the Stasi. The Emergency Refugee Centre turns from a place of safety into a cold war location, proving once more that one cannot leave without taking along one’s past.
With great personal and political power, “WEST” shows the difficulties of daring to start a new life - if the past has taken away all faith.
FIPRESCI Prize & Best Leading Actress (Montreal 2013)
Best Actress: Jördis Triebel (German Film Award 2014)
Trailer
Director — Christian Schwochow
Christian Schwochow was born in 1978 in Bergen on the isle of Rügen (GDR). He worked as author, reporter and videojournalist for German television and radio before studying at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. In 2007 he graduated with the movie NOVEMBER CHILD, which was a big success in cinemas and which won a dozen awards. In 2011 his second long feature film CRACKS IN THE SHELL followed. For both movies he wrote the screenplay together with Heide Schwochow. In 2012 he directed the adaptation of the best-selling novel „THE TOWER” for German TV.
Filmography
2014 Bornholmer Straße - TV movie, post-production
2013 Westen
2012 Der Turm -TV movie
2008 Novemberkind
2007 Terra X - Expedition ins Unbekannte - TV Series documentary, 1 episode
2006 Marta und der fliegende Großvater
2005 Tantalus (short)
Cast & Credits
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Director |
Christian Schwochow |
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Script |
Heide Schwochow |
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Based on the original novel “Lagerfeuer” by Julia Franck |
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Editor |
Jens Klüber bfs |
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Director of Photography |
Frank Lamm |
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Original Sound |
Jörg Kidrowski bvft |
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Original Music |
Lorenz Dangel |
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Sound Design |
Rainer Heesch |
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Production Design |
Tim Pannen |
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Costume Design |
Kristin Schuster |
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Makeup Design |
Wolfgang Böge BvM |
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Casting |
Uta Seibicke |
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Production Manager |
Andreas Jupe |
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Line Producer |
Tassilo Aschauer |
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Producers |
Katrin Schlösser, Ö Filmproduktion |
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Thomas Kufus, zero one film |
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Christoph Friedel, Terz Filmproduktion |
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Co-Producers |
Helge Sasse, Senator Film Produktion |
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WDR, Barbara Buhl |
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SWR, Stefanie Groß |
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rbb, Cooky Ziesche |
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ARTE, Georg Steinert |
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| 102 mins |
CAST
| NELLY SENFF | Jördis Triebel |
| ALEXEJ | Tristan Göbel |
| HANS PISCHKE | Alexander Scheer |
| JOHN BIRD | Jacky Ido |
Images
Click any still to enlarge
The Critics
Mark Kermode, The Observer
★★★★
★★★★
'Triebel is excellent...a magnetic presence on screen.'
Wendy Ide The Times
★★★★★
'an absorbing, slow-burning thriller'
Allan Hunter, The Daily Express★★★★
'Triebel is an outstanding presence in this slow-burning thriller, which continues to smoulder long after the credits roll.'
David Hughes, Empire
★★★★
'A troubling drama wth a deepy felt central performance from Triebel."Philip Kemp, Total Film
Christian Schwochow on writing sex scenes with his mother: 'It can be tricky'
Read The Guardian Interview'
'An intriguing study of family. love and treachery.'
Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent
★★★★The Morning Star
'The anxiety of a nation in a state of schizophrenia is the catalyst behind director Christian Schwochow's West, a devastating portrait of a mother and son's attempt to flee the GDR.'
Patrick Gamble, CineVue
★★★★Front Row Reviews★★★★
The Herald Scotland
★★★★Filmuforia
★★★★
HeyuGuys
'Christian Schwochow's film is a tense psychological slow burn, putting us in the muddled headspace of its protagonist as she gradually comes unglued.'
Nick Prigge, Slant Magazine
'Schwochow's intimate, handheld camerawork often feels like surveillance, which transforms mundane events into the menacing moments of a psychological thriller.'
Serena Donadoni, Village Voice
Links
Quad Poster
Pressbook
Website of the Marienfelde Refugee Centre
West - paperback or eBook from Vintage Books
Filmed Q&A with Christian Schwochow at the BFI Southbank
Interview with Christian Schwochow in The Guardian
Interview with Christian Schwochow in Indiewire
Bookings & Press
For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.