Alle reden übers Wetter | Talking about the weather: dir Annika Pinske (2022)

Writer-director Annika Pinske’s debut feature tells the story of Clara, a middle-aged college lecturer and doctoral candidate who seems somewhat uncomfortable with her life in Berlin.  That gets put into focus when she pays a weekend visit to her hometown in rural East Germany with her 15-year-old daughter to celebrate her mother 60th birthday; there’s a stark contrast between the pacey, urban, moneyed city existence and a folksy, economically challenged village where life is comparatively simple. The differences in atmosphere and attitudes are palpable. So which of these alternatives is more fulfilling?

The film (in German with English subtitles) screens as part of the now-annual NAAS Film Festival, a collaboration between several international cultural institutions in the UAE that each year it brings independent films to the UAE with socially relevant themes. This year’s is ‘Family Reel: Celebrating the Year of the Family’ – a selection of films that highlight the diversity, strength, and significance of familial relationships.