German Currents Kino: Sonne Und Beton (Sun & Concrete)
Director: David Wnendt Run Time: 119 min. Release Year: 2023 Language: German
Starring: Aaron Maldonado-Morales, Levy Rico Arcos, Nicole Johannhanwahr, Rafael Luis Klein-Hessling, Vincent Wiemer
This screening is made possible with the support of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.
Synopsis: It is a record breaking hot summer in Berlin. For German teens Lukas (Arcos), Gino (Klein-Heßling) and Julius (Wiemer), life in the sprawling Gropiusstadt housing complex in Berlin’s Neukölln district is rough, to say the least. The parks stink, are over-run with drug dealers, and broken bottles are everywhere. Here, you’re either a gangster, or a victim. With stress at home, no cash, and no luck with girls, the three friends are certainly no gangsters. While ditching school one day to buy weed, the boys are caught between two rival dealer-gangs who leave Lukas severely beaten and demand the boys pay 500 Euros as protection money. With no way to come up with the cash, Lukas’ new classmate Sanchez (Maldonado-Morales) proposes a heist: simply break into the school, steal the brand-new computers and re-sell them. Problem solved…almost.
A German box office smash-hit, Wnendt’s (Combat Girls, Wetlands) adaptation of German stand-up comedian and best-selling author Felix Lobrecht’s novel SONNE UND BETON is a raw, often violent and street-slang-filled portrait of friendship on the rough streets of the city – this too, is Berlin!
Critic’s Quotes:
Showtimes:
Friday, May 10, 2024: 7:00
Sunday, May 12, 2024: 3:00
Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 1:00
Ticket Prices: $5 Regular
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgU26fuQx-8