David Hugo Schmitz

In 1981, all of Germany fears for the life of Johannes Erlemann, the eleven-year-old son of entrepreneur Jochem Erlemann, who was in custody on suspicion of fraud at the time of his son's abduction. The boy was snatched off his bicycle by his kidnappers, put into a van and then spend two terrible weeks in a shed in the forest fighting for his life having been chained to a wall and left without daylight, while the kidnappers try to extort a large ransom from his wealthy parents.

​From a swimming pool in Brazil to the back seat of a car in Germany via an apartment in the early hours of the morning where three men dance to the beat of wild passions, here are four stories about the marks that can be left when skin touches skin. Even in brightness, some shadows will always linger. The 4 short films are: Offline [Desconexo] (2020); Hedon (2019); Adán & Esteban (2022); Private Photos [Fotos Privadas] (2020).

The three siblings Luca, Maxine & Theo are left alone at home. Their parents have taken away the family’s router on long overdue holiday. Without any internet access, the kids are forced to run free in their deluded state of minds. Events quickly evolve, bloody and evil, for real...

Teresa und Patricia are best friends. Despite the big differences between date-experienced Teresa and romantically predisposed single-mother Patricia, they have one thing in common: they have enough of bad dates and are sick of stupid dudes, bad surprises and broken hearts. When Teresa meets the neurotic programmer Anton, who is completely inexperienced in the field of romance, they come up with a genius business idea: together with the womanizer and start-up founder Paul, they develop an app with which potential dates can be categorized. In this manner, users can paint a picture of what they're getting themselves into. However, quite quickly they find out that people can't be easily fit into boxes and that matters of the heart shouldn't be left to an algorithm...

Set in modern Berlin, "Ms. Stern" is a dramedy about a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, who is unable to choose her own fate. However, while trying her best to find a way out of this life, she spends her time joyously with her spirited granddaughter, Elli, and her eclectic group of friends, living it up to the fullest.

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.

On an impulse, 60 year old Charlotte leaves her husband stranded at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. A deep and driven instinct has her setting off, away from her old mundane life as a grandmother, a mother, a wife, and towards a new and different life. Little does she know that her granddaughter, Jo, a wonderfully whimsical child, is hiding in the back of the car. Charlotte’s spontaneous escape triggers off a journey, not only for her and her granddaughter, but also for her husband Paul and daughter Alex. As Paul and Alex pursue Charlotte and Jo across the countryside, they stumble into their own mishaps, self discoveries and emotional confrontations.

Four teenage friends - Frank, Spüli, Mücke, and Pommes - try to have their first contact with the opposite gender. Not so easy in the Ruhr region of the 80s. Attempts at dancing and being in a band go wrong, and their parents and teachers can't help with that, so the four teens need to get creative.

On the hunt for an emotional spark, Fynn sets out to lose himself in various sexual encounters of the night. As day is dawning he stumbles across young Tom, but by this point he wonders if he is still in control of his bodily impulses.

At his law firm's New Year's Eve party, young lawyer Felix is blackmailed into stealing confidential documents from his employer.