AMA Film

As she enters retirement, a mother leaves behind her solitary life in rural Germany and travels to protest-ridden Hong Kong to visit her son.

In northern France, Gabin, the youngest child of the Jourdel family, is destined to take over his father’s butcher shop. Torn between family loyalty and a desire to break free, he has other dreams: training a show cow, becoming a dog breeder, and saving his mother’s farm from bankruptcy. Gabin follows the life of this young boy from age 8 to 18.

The film observes the everyday lives of four girls in a residential group run by child and youth welfare services. Separated from their parents, they struggle for recognition, self-love, self-determination, and security. Always with the fervent desire to return home someday.

The film goes far beyond the concert stage and delves into the tension-filled space of rehearsals – where the sound is not yet fixed, but alive, fragile, and in the process of becoming. We experience a wealth of musical encounters in which a shared musical language begins to breathe. The focus is on works by influential composers such as Rebecca Saunders, Heiner Goebbels, and Mark Andre, alongside the vibrant voices of a younger generation, including Brigitta Muntendorf and Milica Djordjevic, in collaboration with conductors such as Vimbayi Kaziboni, Bas Wiegers, Ingo Metzmacher, and Enno Poppe. Each year, Ensemble Modern premieres around 70 works, continually venturing into uncharted sonic territories.