Terminally ill, Lea surprises her family with her wish to die, consciously and controlled, on her own birthday. Her mother tries everything to prevent the plan. But things turn out differently. Tragic and dignified.
22-year-old Lea travels to Zurich, despite her terminal illness. After years of suffering, suicide seems to be the only solution for her. She has made her decision and seems to be relieved that she will be able to leave her illness behind.
She sends her sister Rita, her overwhelmed mother Hannah and grandmother Maria a text message. She wants to spend her very last day, her own birthday, with her family. Lea’s ex-boyfriend Heiner also finds out about her illness and travels to Zurich. And on top of it all, Lea meets the somewhat strange but likeable Moritz at her hotel, who has come to Zurich for the same reason.
In Zurich parallel words collide: Lea is determined but encounters fierce resistance from her own inner circle of loved ones.
Director
Frederik Steiner
Version
German (OV)
with English subtitlesProduced by
Peter Heilrath
Cast
Liv Lisa Fries, Lena Stolze, Sophie Rogall
Genre
Drama
Running Time
103 min.
Release
February 13, 2014
Festivals
Hof International Film Festival 2013 | Camerimage 2013 (Directors’ Debuts Competition) | Bavarian Film Award 2014 | Max Ophüls Film Festival 2014 (Competition) | Seoul IFF 2014 | IFF Schlingel 2014 | Beijing IFF 2014
Awards
"Metropolis" for Best Leading Actress at Metropolis 2014, "Best Narrative Feature" at Greenwich International Film Festival 2015
Year
2013
Status
Completed
credits not contractual