Punching the World | Mit der Faust in die Welt Schlagen

FREE ADMISSION | TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE STARTING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st @ 10.00 AM Admission is free with above RSVP link | Capacity is limited | Light refreshments provided

RSVP holders will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.


PUNCHING THE WORLD | MIT DER FAUST IN DIE WELT SCHLAGEN
Germany (2025) 110 min. German with English Subtitles
Writer-Director Constanze Klaue
Cinematography Florian Brückner
Editing Andreas Wodraschke, Emma Alice Gräf, Daniel McMahon (Assistenz)
Cast Anton Franke, Camille Moltzen, Anja Schneider, Christian Näthe, Katrin Röver, Hannes Wegener, Meinhard Neumann, Steffi Kühnert, Johannes Scheidweiler, Moritz Hoyer
Producers Gabriele Simon, Alexander Wadouh, Roxana Richters Martin Heisler
Production Company Flare Film GmbH (Berlin), Chromosom Film GmbH (Berlin)


2006: 12-year-old Philipp (Franke) and nine-year-old Tobi (Moltzen) are two brothers navigating a challenging childhood in the East German provinces. As the boys look forward to moving into a house their father, Stefan (Näthe), is building, Stefan loses his job due to excessive drinking, and their mother, Sabine (Schneider), struggles to hold things together. Stuck in the middle, Tobi and Philipp explore the nearby countryside, far from their suffocating family. In a life which offers few bright spots or role models, the only other outlet is a group of older boys whose promise of adventure brings violence and xenophobia. When Philipp joins them, he feels a new sense of purpose and belonging, despite crossing legal and moral boundaries. Tension escalates when, years later, a refugee shelter is scheduled to open nearby. Inspired by Lukas Rietzschel’s critically acclaimed novel, PUNCHING THE WORLD, Constanze Klaue’s debut feature is a powerful meditation on Germany’s post-reunification era, the need to belong, and the dangers of alienation. For their powerful performances, newcomers Franke and Moltzen received the German Film Critics’ Award 2026 for Best Acting.

  SELECT AWARDS
German Film Critics’ Award 2026 Best Casting, Best Acting Ensemble
Friedenspreis des deutschen Films Die Brücke 2025 (Newcomer Award)
Marburger Kinder- und Jugendfilmfestival Honorable Mention

  Constanze Klaue was born in Berlin and studied German in Dresden and jazz music in Osnabrück. She then worked as a writer, copywriter, and director for an advertising production company in Cologne before studying at the city’s Academy of Media Arts. In 2017/18, she was awarded a scholarship by the Academy for Children’s Media and won the Boje Baumhaus Media Prize for developing her novel “Ausgerechnet Mops”. In 2020, her graduation film Lychen 92 won the Max Ophüls Prize and the First Steps Award for Best Medium-Length Film.  Mit der Faust in die Welt schlagen is her debut feature film.


WORLD SALES
Across Nations Filmverleih GmbH
www.across-nations.de



The GERMAN CURRENTS Film Festival 2026 is a co-production of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the American Cinematheque with the support of The Friends of Goethe, ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America), Condor, the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco, the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles, the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, Paulaner USA, Paulaner Sunset, Tupetz Wine Connection, KRUU.COM, and in cooperation with the German Consulate General in Los Angeles, the Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e.V., the  German Film Office, the Wende Museum, and DEFA Film Library as well as our media partners Deutsche Welle, KPFK Radio, Campus Circle, and our educational outreach partners ELMA and Creating Creators.