5th contribution in the special program by Oliver Ziegenbalg (D 2023, 115 min) followed by a discussion with Oliver Ziegenbalg
An alcoholic civil engineer gets caught up in a police check in a drunken stupor and loses his driver's license. Out of spite, he makes a bet not to drink another drop until he is allowed to drive again. With a concentrated load of comedy, the film circles between the threat of relapse and the resistance to deal with the reasons for the addiction. It is a lavishly orchestrated work for renowned actors, above all Frederic Lau, Nora Tschirner, Godehard Giese and Friederike Becht.
OLIVER ZIEGENBALG
Jury member Oliver Ziegenbalg on his film: "We wanted to depict this ride on the razor's edge that alcohol is: you dance, it's super beautiful and fun, but you know that you also pay a price for it. For me, the worst thing would be to just let Mark the site manager bang into cars when he's drunk - because then you're really just fulfilling expectations. It's a story from an acquaintance that sounds a bit like an urban legend, but has actually happened to several people. The same applies to the red traffic lights in the film: they keep riding their bikes through them on red and nothing ever happens - until we break this built-up expectation again."
Oliver Ziegenbalg is an honorary fellow of FILMKUNSFEST MV 2025 and is therefore also a guest in Ahrenshoop.
