Daniel Herrmann und Ika Sperling: „Der Große Reset“ und „Pinke Monster“

Daniel Herrmann: "Pink Monsters"

Frank is in the middle of puberty and is slowly but surely realizing that he is gay. The shy 14-year-old gains recognition mainly through his talent for drawing - his monsters are coveted by the cool boys around him. Meanwhile, Frank's mother seeks help from an esoteric healer to help his father, who is suffering from depression. The charismatic Thea not only gives his parents new hope, but the emotionally insecure Frank also finds security in her "secret knowledge".

However, when Thea makes Frank's monster partly responsible for his father's illness and, shortly afterwards, makes the boy feel guilty about his sexual orientation, Frank has to jeopardize his relationship with his parents in order to emancipate himself...

In his debut for Reprodukt, Claus Daniel Herrmann succeeds in creating a nuanced coming-of-age story about the power that ideologies can have over even supposedly reasonable people if they are given space.

Ika Sperling: "The Great Reset"

A wine-growing region, somewhere in the German provinces: during a short visit to her home village, student Ika discovers that her father has become increasingly immersed in the depths of the internet and has lost himself in conspiracy ideologies. In everyday life, everyone goes to great lengths to avoid discussions about war, vaccination and politics, but the increasing estrangement of her father and the family seems unstoppable. While her mother wants a harmonious weekend and her sister just wants some peace and quiet, Ika tries to find out what is actually going on: has her father sold the house and wants to emigrate? Or is this just talk?

Emotionally, but also with wonderfully dry humor and an unsparing gaze, Ika Sperling succeeds with "The Great Reset" in creating an intimate story that exposes inner-family relationships and emotions in the shadow of a social conflict, reflecting the big in the small.

With a discussion with Andrew Schäfer (Representative for Worldview Issues of the Rhenish Church).

An event organized by Dortmund's acting city clerk Ika Sperling.