24 Weeks

24 Weeks

2DCSCS/ES
Director:Anne Zohra Berrached
Cast:Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf
Premiere:27. October 2016
Length:102 minutes
Genre:Drama

Director: Anne Zohra Berrached  •  Cast: Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf

24 Weeks, the second feature by Anne Zohra Berrached, depicts the story of the TV comedian Astrid, expecting a child who has been diagnosed with Down syndrome and a serious heart condition. Already the mother of a nine-year-old daughter, she and her empathetic partner worry about the future and consider whether they should keep the unborn baby. The film, with the fabulous Julia Jentsch in the lead role, exposes through a feminist perspective a person caught up in a major moral dilemma for which there is no easy solution. The promising German director presents the key themes of a woman’s right to decide freely about the most difficult issues of her life, as well as her right not to be (either publicly or privately) judged for her choice. Berrached and her cinematographer, Friede Clausz, adroitly combine severe naturalism and refined humour, with the HD endoscopic images of an embryo evidently being the very first in cinema history. The significant, brave, emotional film was undoubtedly one of the apices of this year’s Berlinale.

Length: 102 min

Year: 2016
Local premiere date: 27. October 2016

Country of origin:

  • Germany

Director: Anne Zohra Berrached  •  Cast: Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf

24 Weeks, the second feature by Anne Zohra Berrached, depicts the story of the TV comedian Astrid, expecting a child who has been diagnosed with Down syndrome and a serious heart condition. Already the mother of a nine-year-old daughter, she and her empathetic partner worry about the future and consider whether they should keep the unborn baby. The film, with the fabulous Julia Jentsch in the lead role, exposes through a feminist perspective a person caught up in a major moral dilemma for which there is no easy solution. The promising German director presents the key themes of a woman’s right to decide freely about the most difficult issues of her life, as well as her right not to be (either publicly or privately) judged for her choice. Berrached and her cinematographer, Friede Clausz, adroitly combine severe naturalism and refined humour, with the HD endoscopic images of an embryo evidently being the very first in cinema history. The significant, brave, emotional film was undoubtedly one of the apices of this year’s Berlinale.

Year: 2016
Local premiere date: 27. October 2016

Country of origin:

  • Germany