Screened as part of NZIFF 2013

Oh Boy 2012

Directed by Jan Ole Gerster

Debut director Jan Ole Gerster’s funny, jazz-inflected account of a bad day in the life of an über-cool young Berliner (Tom Schilling) trounced all comers to carry off a load of Lolas at this year’s German Film Awards.

Germany In German with English subtitles
88 minutes B&W / DCP

Director, Screenplay

Producers

Marcos Kantis
,
Alexander Wadouh

Photography

Philipp Kirsamer

Editor

Anja Siemens

Production designer

Juliane Friedrich

Costume designers

Juliane Maier
,
Ildiko Okolicsanyi

Sound

Magnus Pflüger

Music

The Major Minors
,
Cherilyn MacNeil

With

Tom Schilling (Niko Fischer)
,
Friederike Kempter (Julika Hoffmann)
,
Marc Hosemann (Matze)
,
Katharina Schüttler (Elli)
,
Justus von Dohnányi (Karl Speckenbach)
,
Andreas Schröders (psychologist)
,
Arnd Klawitter (Phillip Rauch)
,
Martin Brambach (Jörg)
,
Frederick Lau (Ronny)
,
Ulrich Noethen (Walter Fischer)
,
Michael Gwisdek (Friedrich)
,
Steffen C. Jürgens (Ralf)

Festivals

Karlovy Vary 2012; Rotterdam 2013

Elsewhere

This funny, jazz-inflected account of a bad day in the life of an über-cool young Berliner has snapped up audience prizes at European festivals and trounced all comers to carry off a load of Lolas at this year’s German Film Awards. Niko (Tom Schilling) wakes up to what looks like the scruffy last goodbye of an exhausted relationship, and spends the rest of the day finding he’s slipped a few other moorings as well. He screws up a bizarre psychological test to reclaim his driving licence, his bill-paying father figures out that he’s not been to college in two years and a promising encounter with an old schoolmate gets very weird. And he really needs a coffee. Shooting in lustrous black and white, debut director Jan Ole Gerster guides us from ironic hipster comedy into a poignant ode to today’s Berlin, wryly placing Niko’s troubles alongside those of a handful of other Berliners who mistake him for a good listener and accost him with theirs.