Kalle Kosmonaut
Boyhood in Berlin. A coming-of-age story that takes place in the neighborhood around the Allee der Kosmonauten (Alley of the Cosmonauts), over a period of 10 years. A 16-year-old boy wanders through a wasteland in Berlin. He regrets a momentous act that will change his life significantly. "I really don't know how it all started..." We begin when Kalle is 10 years old. Alone at night in his ´hood. His first love. His Jugendweihe (civic initiation ceremony). Dangerous dares on the city’s district heating pipes. Friendships and weddings. Trial, conviction, jail. The world outside keeps on turning. Grandpa misses he GDR. Grandma defeats her addiction. Mother lets off fireworks on Kalle’s 18th birthday. The policewoman watches over their neighborhood. After his return from prison, Kalle begins a breathless journey back to himself. The film is a hybrid of direct cinema, graphic novel and in-depth conversations - a long-term observation documentary and an animated journey through Kalle's head. A radically honest and at the same time poetic reflection on love, family, fate and guilt - carried by the hope for a better life.
Age recommendation: 12+

Günther Kurth got his start in the film and TV business as technician at Bavaria Film, Munich. He then moved on to ProSieben, where he was most recently responsible for on-air promotion as director, editor and executive producer. In 2000, he started his own business. During the process, he discovered his passion for documentaries and founded KMOTO Film together with Tine Kugler. "Kalle Kosmonaut" is his feature film debut as director and cinematographer.
Filmography
Valik/Selected: Pascal allein zu Haus (2011, doc), Schätze aus der Tonne (2012, doc), Araber im Allgäu (2015, doc), Nur die eine Welt (2019, doc), Kalle Kosmonaut (2022, doc)

Tine Kugler studied sociology and comparative literature and worked as lecturer in media sociology at the University of Konstanz. In 2002 she made her first documentary film, "Die Kanzlermacher", about the spin doctors in the Bundestag election campaign. In 2003 "Das Wunder von Kaufbeuren" (co-directed by Gerald Maas) followed, a cinema documentary about Bavarian saint worship. After numerous documentaries and investigative contributions for television, work started on the long-term project "Kalle Kosmonaut" in 2011.
Filmography
Valik/Selected: Pascal allein zu Haus (2011, doc), Alpfieber (2013, doc), Willkommen in Deutschland (2015, doc), Nur die eine Welt (2019, doc), Kalle Kosmonaut (2022, doc)








