Alaska.de

Synopsis: Fiction film loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Set in the urban jungle of contemporary East Berlin, the film tells the story of 16-year old Sabine who is sent to live with her father. She has no friends until she meets a young boy, Eddie, and his pal, Micha. Unfortunately Micha is often in trouble with the police, and his temper leads to a fight involving Eddie, ending in Eddie stabbing another boy to death. Sabine finds the bleeding corpse and sees Micha running away with a knife in his hands. The boys are terrified at what they’ve done and threaten Sabine to keep silent. When Micha decides to take matters into his own hands, things only get worse...
Language: German (Standard)
Country: Germany
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 2000
Duration: 84 mins

Director

Esther Gronenborn

Producer

Dietmar Guentsche; Eberhard Junkersdorf

Cinematographer

Screenplay

Music

Costume

Cast

Notes: Originally filmed on 16mm, this production was Gronenborn’s film debut.
General: According to German films Service & Marketing GmbH, the "idea for the film was born when the director met with members of two gangs while producing a music video about violence in German schools. All the young actors in the film are amateurs. The director and the 13 participating kids met over several weekends and an intensive week-long training session to prepare for the film. During the improvisation exercises of these workshops, the film’s narrative was honed to correspond with the real-life experiences of the kids" (http://www.german-films.de/app/filmarchive/film_view.php?film_id=377, accessed 23/7/2007)
History: Premiere online on 23/1/2001on www.film-alaska.de website.
Awards: German Film Awards 2001 for Best Direction & Best Editing
Reviews: Review by Eddie Cockrell for Variety, 16 October 2000.
A detailed brochure by Michael Schaudig (2004) assessing the film (in German) can be ordered from the Bernhard Wicki Gedächtnis Fonds e.V. in Munich. See their homepage at www.bernhardwickigedaechtnisfonds.de for more details.
A film-booklet by Hans-Jürgen Bochnig (2001) for the Institut fuer Kino und Filmkultur (IFK) in Cologne discusses how the film can be used for media education in schools. See www.film-kultur.de for more details.

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Shakespeare, "Alaska.de". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av68816 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)

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