Katarina Schröter

At the peak of his mid-life crisis, Swiss filmmaker Stefan Keller is forced to take on a side job out of financial necessity. Consequently, he finds himself travelling throughout Switzerland as an anonymous youth hostel tester just before Christmas. Thus begins his odyssey: Stefan is in desperate need of a story; he struggles with his failed relationship; and chance acquaintances force him to face the meaning of his existence.

13-year-old Jonja goes on vacation with the wealthy family of her best friend Paul. None of this would be a problem if the girl had told her mother about it - but she hasn't. Meanwhile, the days at the lake turn out to be extremely idyllic: Jonja falls in love with a girl and her friendship with Paul is strengthened even further. When it becomes clear that Jonja has lied, emotions run high...

Years ago, three best friends were making a stir in Berlin’s arts scene and nightlife: Maria, a director; Laura, a young actress; and Jan, a DJ. Now they all meet up on a farm in the Black Forest where Laura and Jan had moved to fulfill their dream of a rural life. The illusions they’d all once had have given way to a life that is anything but glamorous.

“The Visitor“, a silent figure incorporated by the filmmaker, roams through three Mega-cities, creating encounters with random people, following a dramaturgy of chance both with the choice of the protagonist as with the outcome of each story. First simply attendant, she becomes a friend, intruder and even beloved one who shares the whole daily life of her protagonists, their sleeping places and worries. Through this new presence in their life, not only the loneliness of the different people becomes apparent, but, as the relation intensifies, the border between “I” and “the other” starts to blur.

In Los Angeles and Tokyo, the film invites people to live out unfulfilled desires as strangers from their city embody those they long for. The film explores loneliness and emotional life in late-capitalist cities, all while celebrating the transformative power of imagination.

In Los Angeles and Tokyo, the film invites people to live out unfulfilled desires as strangers from their city embody those they long for. The film explores loneliness and emotional life in late-capitalist cities, all while celebrating the transformative power of imagination.