Beta Cinema is launching international sales in Cannes for director Fatih Akin‘s upcoming film “Amrum,” which starts shooting in Hamburg Monday. The film stars Jasper Billerbeck, Laura Tonke and Diane Kruger.
“Amrum” will be released in German theaters in September 2025, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
It is set on the island of Amrum in spring 1945. Seal hunting, fishing at night, toiling in the fields – nothing is too dangerous or too arduous for 12-year-old Nanning to help his mother feed the family in the final days of World War II. With the longed-for peace, however, completely new conflicts arise, and Nanning must learn to find his own way.
The story is based on the childhood memories of German director and screenwriter Hark Bohm. Akin said: “What began as a Hark Bohm film now becomes my 12th feature film and an extraordinary mission: ‘Amrum’ is the journey of young Nanning, who in the last week of World War II every day uncovers a little more of the dark secret of his family, until he is driven out of paradise at the end.”
The main roles are played by 12-year-old Billerbeck as Nanning and 11-year-old Kian Köppke as his friend Hermann. Nanning’s mother, Hille Hagener, is played by Tonke (“When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before,” “AEIOU”), and her sister, Aunt Ena, by Lisa Hagmeister (“System Crasher”). The role of the farmer’s wife Tessa Bendixen is played by Kruger (“Inglourious Basterds,” “In the Fade”), Detlev Buck (“Same Same But Different”) plays the fisherman Sam Gangsters, Matthias Schweighöfer (“Oppenheimer,” “Army of the Dead,” “Hinterland”) is Uncle Theo, Lars Jessen is Grandpa Arjan and Bohm (“The Golden Glove,” “If Not Us, Who?”) is the old man by the sea.
Akin won the Golden Bear at the 2004 Berlinale with “Head-On.” His next major international success came with the drama “The Edge of Heaven” in 2007, which won the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by the European Film Award and the German Film Award. “Soul Kitchen” won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2009.
“The Cut” had its world premiere in 2014 in competition at Venice. In 2016, Akin shot “In the Fade” with Kruger and Denis Moschitto in the leading roles. The film won the best actress prize in Cannes, and the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film. It was also selected as the German entry for the 2018 Oscars, and was nominated in five categories for the German Film Award and won in two categories. “The Golden Glove” celebrated its world premiere in competition at the 2019 Berlinale. The gangster drama “Rheingold” (2022) was Akin’s most successful theatrical release in Germany to date.
“Amrum” is produced by Bombero Intl. and Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany, in co-production with Rialto Film. Beta Cinema holds all international rights.
The production is funded by the German Federal Film Board (FFA), the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and MFG Baden-Württemberg, and is supported by the Bavarian Film Prize.
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