Synopsis

After highly acclaimed Berlin is in Germany and One Day in Europe, director Hannes Stöhr has once again crafted a feature that sensitively and precisely captures the mood of a generation. With the internationally known hit DJ Paul Kalkbrenner in the lead role (whom Stöhr discovers here for the cinema), he takes the viewer on an exciting musical journey with all of its highs and lows. “Usually, in the films about the musicians, the musician’s struggle for survival is always related in the context of the time in which he’s living. This turns all these films into a portrait of society, a picture of manners, a study of the times. Whenever it’s about a rock ‘n’roll hero, the artist’s often self-destructive struggle becomes a metaphor for a generation, since the aspect of rebellion against society is usually the focal point here. To me, the main theme of all these portraits is ‘art and madness’. You wait with growing tension until the artist freaks out or, to put it differently, you watch as he flies too close to the sun. Why always deal with the past, when the present is so exciting? The musicians of the YouTube generation compose on their laptops, fly around the world and don’t need any lyrics. Berlin Calling is not a biopic. The film traces the life of a fictional musician in Berlin of today, and deals with art and insanity, intoxication and ecstasy, hope and future, friendship and family, music and the lust for life, and, of course, love.” – Director’s statement

Director

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  • Hannes Stöhr
  • Born in 1970, Hannes Stöhr studied screenwriting at the German Film Academy. He has consistently made short films since 1990, and made his feature film debut with Berlin is in Germany in 2001, a development of one of his short films. He later directed Odin's Revenge and One Day in Europe.