Jochen Ziem

A 12 year-old street kid in a slum of Berlin struggles to stay afloat through a commitment to his compassionate teacher and ambivalent classmates, aged 11-14, who also bear the harsh marks of impoverishment, which manifest themselves in peer ruthlessness and disrespect of adults.

Eleven year old Stefan no longer knows his identity: is he Polish or German? Until now he has been Polish, and now that his family has moved to West Germany, he is supposed to be German? But there's the foreign language, the big city with its supermarkets and the lack of friends. In the end, Stefan leaves home and travels back to his hometown illegally. But he can't find his way around there either. Until Stefan knows where he belongs, he has to make many detours.

A 12 year-old street kid in a slum of Berlin struggles to stay afloat through a commitment to his compassionate teacher and ambivalent classmates, aged 11-14, who also bear the harsh marks of impoverishment, which manifest themselves in peer ruthlessness and disrespect of adults.

Eleven year old Stefan no longer knows his identity: is he Polish or German? Until now he has been Polish, and now that his family has moved to West Germany, he is supposed to be German? But there's the foreign language, the big city with its supermarkets and the lack of friends. In the end, Stefan leaves home and travels back to his hometown illegally. But he can't find his way around there either. Until Stefan knows where he belongs, he has to make many detours.