A Land Within | Zweitland

Saturday, October 10th @ 7:00 PM at the American Cinematheque's Los Feliz 3 Theatre.

Discussion with Writer-Director Michael Kofler following the screening.
Presented with the support of the Austrian Consulate General Los Angeles, the Italian Cultural Institut Los Angeles, and the German Film Office

FREE ADMISSION | TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE STARTING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st @ 10.00 AM

Admission is free with above RSVP link | Capacity is limited
RSVP holders will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.


A LAND WITHIN | ZWEITLAND
Germany, Italy, Austria (2025) 112 min. DCP Projection. Italian, German, South Tyrolean dialect with English Subtitles
Writer-Director Michael Kofler
Assistant Director Peter Fuchs, Jannis Skalieris
Cinematography Felix Wiedemann
Editing Florian Miosge
Cast Thomas Prenn, Laurence Rupp, Aenne Schwarz, Niclas Carli, Francesco Acquaroli, Andrea Fuorto
Producers Wasiliki Bleser, Nina Spilger
Co-Producers Martin Rattini, Barbara Pichler, Gabriele Kranzelbinder, Dr. Rainer Kölmel
Production Company Starhaus Filmproduktion GmbH (München) in co-production with HELIOS Sustainable Films (Bozen), KGP Kranzelbinder Gabriele Production (Wien), Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) (München)


Alto Adige/Südtirol/South Tyrol, 1961. A series of separatist bomb attacks shakes the northern Italian region with a German-speaking minority. Paul (Prenn), a farmer’s son and free spirit, dreams of escaping his little village to study painting in Munich. When his hardliner older brother, Anton (Rupp), is exposed as one of the bombers and is forced to flee, he leaves the farm, his wife Anna (Schwarz) and young son Thomas (Carli) behind. Reluctantly, Paul stays to support the family, but as ethnic tensions and police repression in the village grow, he is drawn into a downward spiral of violence and toxic masculinity. As events spin out of control, Paul must choose between his dream and standing up against his brother. In his feature debut, director Michael Kofler delivers a powerful portrayal of the events surrounding the so-called “Night of Fire” in South Tyrol, highlighting the thin line between conviction and radicalization.


 
SELECT AWARDS 
FF Della Lessinia 2026 MicroCosmo Award
Bavarian Film Award 2026 Newcomer Director Award

  Michael Kofler grew up in rural South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. He studied Directing in London, where he also worked for several years at a leading Film & TV production company. His short films and video works have been screened at various international film festivals. His screenplay for his debut feature film, A LAND WITHIN | ZWEITLAND, won the top award of Racconti Development Lab by IDM Film Commission. Michael is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talents, the talent development program of the Berlinale.


WORLD SALES
Starhaus Filmproduktion GmbH
www.starhaus.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.