In the Berlin district of Neukölln, Hassan Akkouch (18) and his sister Lial (19) and brother Maradona (14) struggle to obtain a residency permit that will allow their family to remain in Germany. Their chances would be almost non-existent if not for the siblings’ talent and passion for youth culture, rap and breakdancing.
The children of divorced parents, the German-born kids live with their mother. In addition to the absence of their father, their lives have been affected by another bitter experience: in 2003, the entire family was deported back to their “homeland” of Lebanon. They returned to Berlin soon after, but since then their presence is merely officially “tolerated”, they have no actual residency permit, and their provisional permit will soon expire. They live in constant fear of deportation and the loss of the place that they consider to be their home. It is almost inevitable that this pressure leads to tensions within the family: Hassan, who wants to sit his school-leaving exam, is happy to assume the role of head of the family, a situation that his sister Lial sometimes finds hard to accept; Maradona, a gifted but vulnerable young man, has been suspended from school numerous times. Faced with these issues, dance and music act like an anchor in their lives, perhaps the only things they have to look forward to, even if some of their ambitions initially prove to be nothing more than an illusion.
Director: Agostino Imondi, Dietmar Ratsch, colour, 96 min., 2009/10
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