“Puberty just shows how you feel. Adults feel the same — they just don’t want to show it and blame puberty instead.”
Documentary Short, 20 min, 2023
Logline
Surrounded by prefabricated apartment buildings, 15-year-old Gerda Müller confronts her loneliness with the help of director Lê Lan Mi.
In the process, she encounters a whirlwind of emotions she doesn’t fully understand and explores questions about her identity, her family, and friendship.
Through artistic means such as singing, acting, and TikTok videos, Gerda faces the darkness in her life.
Credits
With Gerda Müller
Director: Lê Lan Mi
Production: Nam Đỗ, Jenny Nguyễn
DOP: Tony Bùi
Sound: Lê Dũng Nguyễn, Nam Đỗ
Editing: Tony Bùi
Editing Assistant: Jenny Nguyễn
Title Design: Hien Võ
Music: Gerda Müller — "Promises and Lies"
Composition: Ngọc Anh Nguyễn
A Dreh’s Um Production
Producers:
Đức Ngô Ngọc, Sarah Noa Ngô Ngọc
Sound Tutor: Johann Niegl
Editing Tutor: Patrick Richter
WATCH MOVIE
“Crazy Gerda,” as she likes to call herself, shoots TikTok clips in which she plays every role: she is a teacher, a student, and her own mother, whose parental expectations she cannot meet...
...The young filmmakers skillfully employ stylistic devices and narrative forms, vividly depicting the present and past of migrant youth in Berlin.
However, filming in private spaces and grappling with one’s own origins and family history—as well as the causes of self-denial and hurt—requires more than technical know-how. It demands great sensitivity and trust.”