Saša Vajda

Sixteen-year-old Ilay drifts through the summer on the outskirts of Berlin while a palliative nurse accompanies his ailing mother during her last days.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Berlin, a self-proclaimed priest is preaching to a group of people with addiction and mental-health problems in a run-down building that houses a psychosocial support group. A recent arrival at the facility, which aims to be both a home and a religious community for its residents, is Egon, who is struggling with a psychotic disorder. He cannot sleep, refuses to help on the farm, won’t wash, and has trouble following the priest’s instructions. More than once, the pastor crosses a line and humiliates his charges. For most people here, turning to religion is something of a last chance, affording them some kind of support. Egon, however, claims to have conversations with Jesus in which the latter condones his defiant behaviour. His attempt to take the Messiah at his word and understand his miracles eventually propels Egon deeper and deeper into his psychosis.

Sixteen-year-old Ilay drifts through the summer on the outskirts of Berlin while a palliative nurse accompanies his ailing mother during her last days.

Sixteen-year-old Ilay drifts through the summer on the outskirts of Berlin while a palliative nurse accompanies his ailing mother during her last days.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Berlin, a self-proclaimed priest is preaching to a group of people with addiction and mental-health problems in a run-down building that houses a psychosocial support group. A recent arrival at the facility, which aims to be both a home and a religious community for its residents, is Egon, who is struggling with a psychotic disorder. He cannot sleep, refuses to help on the farm, won’t wash, and has trouble following the priest’s instructions. More than once, the pastor crosses a line and humiliates his charges. For most people here, turning to religion is something of a last chance, affording them some kind of support. Egon, however, claims to have conversations with Jesus in which the latter condones his defiant behaviour. His attempt to take the Messiah at his word and understand his miracles eventually propels Egon deeper and deeper into his psychosis.

Somewhere on the outskirts of Berlin, a self-proclaimed priest is preaching to a group of people with addiction and mental-health problems in a run-down building that houses a psychosocial support group. A recent arrival at the facility, which aims to be both a home and a religious community for its residents, is Egon, who is struggling with a psychotic disorder. He cannot sleep, refuses to help on the farm, won’t wash, and has trouble following the priest’s instructions. More than once, the pastor crosses a line and humiliates his charges. For most people here, turning to religion is something of a last chance, affording them some kind of support. Egon, however, claims to have conversations with Jesus in which the latter condones his defiant behaviour. His attempt to take the Messiah at his word and understand his miracles eventually propels Egon deeper and deeper into his psychosis.