A circus wagon and a shipping container serve as stonemason Michael Spengler’s workshop. It is here that he receives people in mourning. Together they design headstones that tell of the deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Neustadt have lost their two-year-old son. Through their dialogue with Michael they find the words to express their emotions, words that become form and substance—their child’s breath is to be represented in a fragile limestone. Hardburg Stolle is a woman of few words, through Michael’s guidance she dauntlessly swings the hammer that splits a boulder and feels a sense of strength that had been long buried. The Jacob family searches for the essence of their grandfather’s life: lover of nature, bon vivant, patriarch. What should an object that encapsulates him look like? Michael approaches the material and the people with great sensitivity and accompanies each family on a process that often takes months, one decision at a time.
The film tells the story of this difficult and intimate process and shows how working on the stone makes death concrete in the truest sense of the word. As the stone takes on its form, the families discover a new relationship with the deceased—and to life.
DOK Leipzig 2018, DE | Achtung Berlin Film Festival 2019, DE
ver.di Award (DOK Leipzig 2018, DE) | Honorable Mention Goethe-Institute (DOK Leipzig 2018, DE) | Ecumenical Award (Achtung Berlin Film Festival 2019, DE)
QUEERPANORAMA
ein Film von Jun Li
USA/Hong Kong/China 2025, 87 Minuten, OF mit dt. UT
FSK ab 16 PANORAMA BERLINALE 2025!
Mo 12.1., 20.00, Votivkino Wien
Mi, 14.1., 20.40, KIZ Royal Kino, Graz
Mo 26.1., 20.30 Cinematograph Innsbruck
Di 27.1., 20.10, Volkskino Klagenfurt
Ein Film von Martin Nguyen
10.2. Wiener Kinostart-Premiere: VILLAGE CINEMA
17.30 Signierstunde RENATE WELSH, anschliessend 18.30 Film + Gespräch mit Martin Nguyen und Renate Welsh
In Kooperation mit der Tageszeitung KURIER und THALIA
13.2., 20.00 Innsbruck - Premiere im LEOKINO, mit Regisseur Martin Nguyen
Ab 13.2. in folgenden Kinos:
Wien: Village Cinema
Innsbruck: Leokino
Wels: Programmkino Wels
22.2., 13.00 Matinée im Filmhaus, mit RENATE WELSH
27.2., 18.30 Graz-Premiere mit Renate Welsh und Martin Nguyen
Ab 27.2. in folgenden Kinos:
Moviemento Linz
KIZ Royal Graz
6.3., Kino im Kesselhaus, mit Regisseur Martin Ngyuen
10.3. Klagenfurt: 18.00 Lesung Renate Welsh im Musilinstitut, 19.30 Filmvorführung im VOLKSKINO mit Martin Nguyen und Renate Welsh
Weitere Kinos folgen
Ein Film von Reinhard Tötschinger
13.2., 14.2., 15.2., 20.2. und 21.2. Bruck an der Leitha
Ein Film von Jasmila Žbanic
weitere Termine in Kürze
Nächste Termine in Kürze
Indian Premiere at AUROVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
21st January 2026
Erlebt echte Kinomomente bei euch im Ort!
Eine Vielzahl ausgewählter Filme findet Ihr auf
Kino Vod Club, Watch AUT
A film by Othmar Schmiderer
International Premiere @ INT. FF ROTTERDAM
Indian Premiere at AUROVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
21st January 2026
30 Jan - 3 Feb INT. FF ROTTERDAM
11 - 17 Feb EFM / BERLINALE