And Along Come Tourists

Auschwitz wasn’t what Sven, a young German, had in mind when he signed up to do his civil service abroad. For him, Auschwitz is a small town in Poland, a strange language, a concentration camp, all the musty greyness of high-school German history classes. To make matters worse, he’s got to care for an old man, Stanislaw Krzeminski, a former inmate who never left the camp. Besides having to endure Krzeminski’s haughty, gruff manner, Sven also has to put up with the barely concealed contempt of various locals. Luckily, there’s Ania, a young guide who lets Sven stay at her place. Yet within this push and pull of conflicting sensations grow love for Ania, compassion for Krzeminski, and the troubling, challenging realization about his own role in preserving the memory of this place…

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Script: Robert Thalheim, with the collaboration of Alexander Buresch, Bernd Lange, Hans-Christian Schmid

Cinematography: Yoliswa Gartig

Editing: Stefan Kobe

Sound: Anton K. Feist, Uwe Bossenz

Music: Anton K. Feist, Uwe Bossenz

Actors: Alexander Fehling (Sven Lehnert), Ryszard Ronczewski (Stanislaw Krzeminski), Barbara Wysocka (Ania Lanuszewska), Piotr Rogucki (Krzysztof Lanuszewski), Rainer Sellien (Klaus Herold), Lena Stolze (Andr

Production: 23/5 Filmproduktion GmbH

Producers: Britta Knoller, Hans-Christian Schmid

Art Direction: Michal Galinski, Rita-Maria Hallekamp

Costumes: Ewa Krauze

Format: 35mm, Color

Production Country: Germany

Production Year: 2006

Duration: 85

Robert Thalheim

He was born in Berlin in 1974, where he still lives today. In 1996 he comleted his alternative civilian service in the Pedagogy Department of the International Youth Meeting Center of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland. From 1998 to 2000 he studied New German Literature, History and Politics at the Freie Universitat Berlin. From 2000 to 2006 he studied Film Directing at the Hochschule fur Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf in Potsdam Babelsberg. His debut feature film, Netto, toured various festivals and won several prizes such as the Jury Prize at the Berlin IFF in 2005, the Talent Award at the Max-Ophuls Festival and the German Film Art Award 2005.