Brennnesselbad
Coming of Age, Drama, 86 min.
Synopsis:
Kim has had enough: of school, her girlfriend and especially her mum. It’s her fault that Kim’s father is now gone. Simply gone. So Kim decides to set off. Right across Hesse. She starts her journey without any proper equipment or even a plan. On foot. She stumbles through meadows, forests and rivers. She can’t go back, only forwards. But it’s not that easy to run away from the past. In nature Kim is constantly confronted with past situations. On her back she carries not only her pink hiking rucksack, but also a lot of anger, guilt and the question of what to do next. Along the way Kim meets street urchin Maxim, hostel employee Leska and long-distance hiker Dada. Each encounter gives Kim a little more insight. As she begins to accept her past, the road suddenly becomes less rocky. The stolen tent is now being set up more quickly and the French navigation system announces that the route ahead is getting shorter and shorter. She is about to arrive at the one place where she can still be.
- Project Team: Janina Lutter, Paul Galli and Fabienne Schweers
Semester: Free project, 6. Semester, 2021
Cast:
Kim: Janina Lutter
Kim’s mother: Anja Schiffel
Kim’s father: Fitz van Thom
Anna: Sophia Münster
Street urchin Maxim: Angelo Lo Bello
Hostel employee Leska: Yasmin Slama
Long-distance hiker Dada: Regine Vergeen
Cashier: Rosa Galli
Teenager #1: Robert Schäfer
Teenager #2: Stefanie Barth
Teenager #3: Robin Serve
Crew list:
Direction, Screenplay & Edit – Janina Lutter
Production, Co-direction, Sound recording and Art direction – Paul Galli
Director of Photography & Gaffer – Fabienne Schweers
Color Grading – Marius Kast
VFX – Charlotte Paulsen
Original Score – Philipp Bodor
Sound Design – Esther Wilka
Film sound and Music mixing – Willy Karl, Philipp Bodor
Trailer
Director’s Commentary: Janina Lutter
„During the second year of the pandemic, our studies were restricted and at times we had to stop filming completely. We looked for a way to remain creative despite the measures and began realising various projects with a minimal team.
After a few short film projects, we came up with the idea for our first feature-length film, „Brennnesselbad“. We didn’t want to make this film in a traditional shooting block, but rather shoot one or two days a week. From April to November, the three of us went out into nature almost every weekend to bring Kim’s story to life. Most of what happens in the film only developed over the shooting period, in line with our possibilities, our attitude to life and the places we discovered that summer.
We financed the film independently without film funding with a small crowdfunding programme. In May 2022, we were able to complete the film and celebrate its premiere at the Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt International. We are still overwhelmed by the positive feedback and are happy to see that Kim’s story touches other people. We hope that with our film we can show that young, independent perspectives deserve a place in front of and behind the camera and that the best way to explore new paths is to travel light.“
The feature film celebrated its premiere at the Lichter Filmfest. It was shown at the Filmkunstfest MV and the QUEER Filmfest Weiterstadt. At the Biberacher Filmfestspiele it was nominated for best debut feature and received a special mention. At the Italian youth film festival vvfilmf, it won first price in the MONTE PIZZOC category.
The film’s website: here
The film’s Instagram: here
Behind The Scenes:
More material such as this video you can find on Take 19’s YouTube profile.
