Writer-director Annika Pinske\u2019s debut feature tells the story of Clara, a middle-aged college lecturer and doctoral candidate who seems somewhat uncomfortable with her life in Berlin.\u00a0 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?<\/p>\n
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’ \u2013 a selection of films that highlight the diversity, strength, and significance of familial relationships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"