Goethe on Demand

Curated to counter the overwhelming wars, crises, and polarization that characterize our everyday lives, “Alles Liebe” is a new yearlong Goethe on Demand series that showcases the most beautiful feeling in the world in its many facets—romantic love stories, unconventional relationships, and stories of care, friendship, and loyalty.

 
Boris is an actor and Jonathan is a writer. Together, they are a couple, but their relationship has reached a point of routine domesticity that some might call stagnant. As Boris immerses himself deeper into rehearsals for a new film with an unpredictable director, he begins to confuse real and fictional characters; meanwhile, Jonathan tries to redefine his voice as a writer by any means necessary. During these days spent struggling with emotional distance and closeness, trust, desire, and fear of loss, Boris’s niece Josie flits about like Shakespeare’s Puck, testing her boundaries as she navigates the approaching end of her childhood.

Fabian Stumm’s directorial debut unfolds in humorous, yet tender sequences centered on people searching for their place in life and offers an intimate reflection on the dissonances in relationships that connect and separate us.

“Stumm proves to be as gifted a writer/director as actor [...]. [He] never feels the need to spoon feed his audience, but allows us to peel back the layers of these complex characters. The results are exhilarating.” (Edge Media Network)

In 2023, Fabian Stumm won the Heiner Carow Prize at the Berlinale and Best Screenplay at the Neiße Film Festival for Bones and Names. Marie-Lou Sellem also won Best Supporting Role at the German Acting Awards.

Knochen und Namen
Dir. Fabian Stumm
Germany, 2023
109 min.
With Fabian Stumm, Knut Berger, Marie-Lou Sellem, Susie Meyer, Magnús Mariuson