Natalia Bobyleva

A former German Army officer, accompanied by his granddaughter, journeys to Ukraine to find the woman he once loved.

A beach outside Leningrad in the winter of 1941: two women, mother and daughter, make their way back to the city with a handful of meat. The meat could be both of their salvations from starvation - had the daughter not already devoured it. During a long walk back to the city, the women's relationship is put to the test.

2032: Putin is dead. Russia has lost the war against Ukraine. Alex, the son of Russian political refugees, returns to the land of collective amnesia with his German friend because he has inherited his deceased grandmother's apartment. But the neighbors are after the apartment. While the unsuspecting Alex waits for the police, their recent past - our present - erupts in everyday conflicts. Only the neighbor's daughter remembers her childhood friend.

Carlos Benede is in his thirties, single and helps minors cope with the after-effects of crime. Alexander is a strong-willed and precocious eleven-year-old, who witnesses the horrific death of his mother by his own father. Benede mentors Alexander and the two develop a bond. But when the trial of Alexander’s father is over, it’s time for the two to part. Alexander has been placed in the care of his aunt, but when she is no longer able, a new caregiver must be found. An unconventional counselor from the youth welfare office learns of Alexander’s trust in Benede, who himself grew up in a home, and reunites the two. Although not always easy, the relationship grows and deepens into one of father and son.

The door has been closed for many weeks. A teenager has locked himself in - shutting out a helpless father, mother and sister. In Japan, youths like him have already been given a name: Hikikomori (the secluded). The phenomenon is also beginning to spread throughout the Western world. This is all the family has been able to find out. All they can do is stand in front of the locked door and ask, beg, implore, throw tantrums, despair, accuse, ignore and hope. All the while, the door increasingly becomes a mirror of their own lives.

Bernd and Daniela Weigel not only make a good deal with the sale of a building plot, but also make the acquaintance of the happy buyers. The couple Viktor and Svetlana Galkin want to finally build a house for their whole family on the newly acquired 1000 square meters in a prime location. The Weigels' and Galkins' high-proof drink is soon followed by a rude awakening: a bomb could go off on the building site at any time.

Holocaust survivor Edek Rothwachs fled to Melbourne as a teen and still thrives at 80, so he balks when daughter Ruth urges him to retire in Berlin. But meeting spirited Polish Zofia gives him a new purpose. He stays, sparks chaos with his boundless energy, embarks on a romance, and helps her open a restaurant, turning Ruth’s quiet plan upside down.

Dr Viktoria Wex arrives in a town in Masuria. She is about to say goodbye to the uncle who raised her as a surrogate father. The letter she received suggests that he has decided to take his own life.