WESTERN

Europe Europe

A crew of German construction workers is tasked with building a hydroelectric power plant in the Bulgarian countryside – no simple assignment. The men consciously keep their distance from the locals, while interacting amongst themselves in a rough but affectionate manner. Only Meinhard, the newbie in the group, gets to know the people in the nearby village – during his rambling forays atop a free-range horse – only he displays an interest in their lives and gradually opens up to them himself. Valeska Grisebach draws on visual tropes from the Western genre to conduct a deeply sensitive examination of diverse experiential worlds and conceptions of masculinity.


DEU, BGR, AUT 2017 / 121 min
Language: German, Bulgarian, English
Director: Valeska Grisebach
  • Screenplay: Valeska Grisebach
  • Cinematographer: Bernhard Keller
  • Editor: Bettina Böhler
  • Sound: Uve Haußig, Martin Steyer, Fabian Schmidt
  • Cast: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Waldemar Zang, Detlef Schaich, Syuleyman Alilov Letifo, Veneta Frangova, Vyara Borisova
  • Producer: Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Valeska Grisebach, Michel Merkt
  • Production Company: Komplizen Film
  • Co-Production Company: Coop99 Filmproduktion, Chouchkov Brothers, ZDF - Das kleine Fernsehspiel
  • World Sales: Films Boutique

A crew of German construction workers is tasked with building a hydroelectric power plant in the Bulgarian countryside – no simple assignment. The men consciously keep their distance from the locals, while interacting amongst themselves in a rough but affectionate manner. Only Meinhard, the newbie in the group, gets to know the people in the nearby village – during his rambling forays atop a free-range horse – only he displays an interest in their lives and gradually opens up to them himself. Valeska Grisebach draws on visual tropes from the Western genre to conduct a deeply sensitive examination of diverse experiential worlds and conceptions of masculinity.

  • Screenplay: Valeska Grisebach
  • Cinematographer: Bernhard Keller
  • Editor: Bettina Böhler
  • Sound: Uve Haußig, Martin Steyer, Fabian Schmidt
  • Cast: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Waldemar Zang, Detlef Schaich, Syuleyman Alilov Letifo, Veneta Frangova, Vyara Borisova
  • Producer: Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Valeska Grisebach, Michel Merkt
  • Production Company: Komplizen Film
  • Co-Production Company: Coop99 Filmproduktion, Chouchkov Brothers, ZDF - Das kleine Fernsehspiel
  • World Sales: Films Boutique