OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2025 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Cannes Premiere)
The celebrated new film from multi award-winning director Fatih Akin (The Edge of Heaven, In The Fade), AMRUM is a moving and deeply poignant historical drama about a 12-year-old boy who, in the shadow of the fading German regime, discovers the true enemy is far closer than he imagined.
Spring 1945, the remote island of Amrum in the North Sea. In what will become the final days of World War II, big-hearted young student Nanning (exceptional newcomer Jasper Billerbeck) has a busy life. He braves the treacherous sea to hunt seals, fishes at night, and works the neighbouring potato farm run by Tessa (Diane Kruger) to help his pregnant mother Hille (Laura Tonke) – a fervent Nazi loyalist - feed the family. His father, captured as a prisoner of war, is unable to offer help or guidance to his son.
But after the radio brings news announcing the fall of Hitler, Nanning’s shattered mother refuses to eat anything other than white bread, butter and honey. Craving her affection, the ever-enterprising Nanning embarks on a quest across the island to obtain these rationed, near-impossible to find ingredients...
Based on the childhood experiences of screenwriter Hark Bohm, AMRUM beautifully captures a place out of time, gracefully confronting the cruelty of the Third Reich through the eyes of a child quickly losing faith in his role models. With the influence of extremist parties evidently expanding in global modern politics, AMRUM is a potent reminder of humankind’s ongoing need for compassion and empathy.
