Home Stories

Straight from the Berlinale competition to Tyske Filmdager: Home Stories (original title: Etwas ganz Besonderes) tells a warm and humorous story about a family in rural Thuringia, where each generation is trying to find its place in life. Starring Max Riemelt, Eva Löbau and the young acting talent Frida Hornemann.

When 16-year-old Lea is asked during an audition for a TV talent show who she is and what makes her special, she doesn’t know what to say. Afterwards, she tries to work out who she is and what defines her. But finding answers in her hometown is not easy. Her parents have separated, and her mother is pregnant again. Her grandparents are constantly arguing and struggling to keep the family hotel running. Lea looks up to her aunt, but in her small hometown, her cultural ambitions are not always met with understanding. As the day of her TV appearance approaches and a camera crew arrives in town to film the programme’s profile segment, Lea faces a difficult question: Which story about her hometown, her family and herself can she tell from life’s many small fragments?

Filmmaker Eva Trobisch has created a deeply human and timely family portrait that takes the characters’ contradictions and longings seriously. This is Trobisch’s third feature film, following All Good (2018) and Ivo (2024). The young acting talent Frida Hornemann has received much praise for her portrayal of Lea. Max Riemelt (Die Welle (2008), Free Fall (2013), Sense8 (2015–2018)) plays Lea’s supportive father, while Eva Löbau (Lærerværelset (2023)) plays her committed aunt.