Gemany 2017
Opening September 28, 2017
Directed by: Adrian Goiginger
Writing credits: Adrian Goiginger
Principal actors: Verena Altenberger, Jeremy Miliker, Lukas Miko, Michael Ping, Michael Fuith
Helga (Verena Altenberer) and her seven-year old son Adrian (Jeremy Miliker) spend most weekends outdoors on the river. They are joined by boyfriend Günther (Lukas Miko) and his friends. Drinks are making the rounds and noisy fireworks light up the night. What fun! Listening to his mother's adventure stories Adrian falls asleep in her arms. His father died before he was born but he is a happy child, unaware of his mother's problems. Helga is a heroin addict hiding her condition not only from her son but also from the control of the social worker. Most afternoons the living room is occupied with drinking, smoking or dozing men, Adrian plays happily among them. From time to time one of the men, and also her mother, disappear into the bedroom to “sleep”. Then he plays on his own, fighting imaginary dragons and feeling strong. Helga is a caring mother, protecting her son as good as she can. She is torn between her addiction and the tender love for her young son. To go to a rehabilitation center would mean leaving Adrian in the care of others.
The young director Adrian Goiginger (26) based his debut feature film on the true and dramatic events of his own childhood when growing up in Salzburg. He succeeds in telling an engrossing story with honesty, insight and humor, avoiding any sentimentality. The protagonists play their role with conviction and particularly little Jeremy Miliker shows an astounding naturalness. Despite the difficult theme of drug addiction, this is a positive story of hope.
Even though drug addiction is not very much in the public focus, it is on the increase with about 200,000 drug addicts in Germany. Youth often try out Cannabis, leading to fashion drugs like Chrystal Meth or Ecstasy. Despite Government's prevention programs, the year 2016 saw 1,226 cases of drug deaths (Fokus Magazin). ()