Plus Minus Null

Svetlana is running out of patience and wants to return to her native Bosnia and Herzegovina. Torn between feelings of mutual loyalty and a more fundamental need to survive, the three of them are ultimately unable to escape the hustle and bustle of night-time Berlin.

Berlin has always been a city of contradictions. With East and Western Germans living side-by-side, encounters between them are an everyday occurrence. The same goes for Alex from Marzahn, who works on a construction site near Potsdamer Platz. He's a cheerful soul, even though he's divorced, homeless and about to be made redundant due to his insistence on selling stolen tools on the side. In Berlin's red-light district, centred around the Kurfürstenstraße, he encounters both Svetlana and Chantal. He falls for the former, the latter has a flat however. Svetlana, in turn, needs to get married since her immigration status is soon to be up for discussion. The need to survive drives the three of them on to the streets of this city of contrasts, bordering as it does Eastern and Western Europe.

Lacking in a script, director Eoin Moore instead allowed the plot to evolve on set. The result is a highly authentic atmosphere, complemented by a stellar performance from Andreas Schmidt. KF