''West'' (german: Westen) is a 2013

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Christian Schwochow and written by his mother Heide Schwochow. The film is based on the German novel ''Lagerfeuer'' by Julia Franck. ''Westen'' had its premiere at the 25th

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

and was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on November 7, 2014.

Plot

The film tells the story of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Nelly Senff and her young son Alexej, who emigrate to the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

in the late 1970s, three years after Nelly's boyfriend Wassilij was killed in an auto accident. In the west, she wants to start a new life, but at first she and Alexej land at Marienfelde refugee transit camp in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. There, Allied intelligence agencies interrogate Nelly and demand information about her dead boyfriend, who is suspected to have been a spy.filmportal.de: short summary of ''Westen''
/ref>

Cast

* Jördis Triebel as Dr. Nelly Senff * as Alexej Senff * Jacky Ido as John Bird - CIA Agent * Anja Antonowicz as Krystyna Jablonowska *

Ryszard Ronczewski Ryszard Ronczewski (27 June 1930 – 17 October 2020) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1954 to 2021 (the premiere of '' The Wedding'' occurred a few months after his death). Ronczewski died from COVID-19 on 17 Octo ...

as Jakub as Krystynas Vater * as Gerd Becker * Polina Voskresenskaya as Jelena *

Alexander Scheer Alexander Scheer (born 1 June 1976 in East Berlin) is a German actor and musician. He has won several national awards for his performances in film and theater, including one German Film Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and one Bavaria ...

as Hans Pischke * as Pförtner Neumann * as Arthur Wilhelm * Tatjana Berges as Großmutter von Jelena * as Dame vom ärztlichen Dienst * as Susanne *

Stefan Lampadius Stefan Lampadius (born November 17, 1976) is a German actor and filmmaker. Biography Stefan Lampadius was born in Aurich in 1976 and grew up in Emden. One of his first film works was live video footage of the English post-punk band And Also The ...

as Jürgen Lüttich *Gabriele Schulze as Frau Breitscheit *Michael Witte as Joachim Fierlinger *Tania Carlin as Britische Geheimdienstlerin in Zivil *Rike Eckermann as Britische Geheimdienstlerin *

Carlo Ljubek Carlo Ljubek (born May 21, 1976 in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German actor. Life Carlo Ljubek was born as a son of Croatian migrants in Bocholt, Germany. He graduated after his actor's training 2002 in Munich, Germany at the Otto- ...

as Wassilij *Diana Maria Breuer as Beamtin *Hacky Rumpel as Nachbar *Luise Weiß as Kellnerin

Awards and nominations

*2012:

German Film Awards German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

- ''Film Award in Gold''-nomination in the category ''Best Screenplay - Unproduced'' for Heide Schwochow *2013:

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

- Prize ''Best Actress'' for Jördis Triebel,

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

in the category ''World Competition'' for Christian Schwochow, ''Grand Prix des Amériques''-nomination in the category ''World Competition'' for Christian Schwochow *2014:

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

- ''Golden Space Needle Award''-nomination in the category ''Best Actress'' for Jördis Triebel *2014: German Film Awards - ''Film Award in Gold'' in the category ''Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role'' for Jördis Triebel

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:West 2013 films 2013 drama films Films set in 1978 Films set in West Germany Films set in Berlin German drama films 2010s German-language films Films directed by Christian Schwochow 2010s German films