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Distant Lights (Lichter, 2003) Director: Hans-Christian Schmid In this vibrant tapestry of human destinies, men and women from different nations and from all walks of life come together at the Polish-German border in their search for happiness and a better life. To some it's the end of the world. To others, the gateway to a new life: the river Oder between Poland and Germany. Vibrant with expectancy, it's a magnet for people from all walks of life on their journey towards happiness, security, a better life. It's a place where Ukrainian refugees beg and bargain for entry to the "golden West" and pin all their hopes on Polish help... A place where a hapless businessman loses everything he owns but gains something more important... Where a teen-aged cigarette smuggler defies his father and brother to free the girl he loves from a detention centre... Where an interpreter risks her career and her freedom to help an illegal refugee... And where an architect meets his former girlfriend and discovers that they've both changed too much to find common ground for a new start. At this crossroads between two worlds, where the law of the land is that of self-preservation, men and women struggle to maintain their dignity and their values as they are stripped to the raw core of their existence. Yet even, in this often hostile climate, love and compassion blossom in the most unexpected ways. And although some hopes and dreams are doomed, others come to pass with the quiet joy of a small and humble miracle. With tender realism and humanity, director Hans-Christian Schmid ("Crazy", "23") captures the lives of people seeking their path in a world of moral ambiguity. Awards: Berlin International Film Festival 2003, FIPRESCI Award in international competition – "for its great skill in showing its struggling character on the German-Polish border and its powerful narrative structure." German Film Award 2003, Film Award in Silver for Best Feature Film (silver "Lola") |
