TURN DOWN THE MUSIC

Florian is 16-years-old and lives with his single mother in Essen in Western Germany. He is approaching his exams and last days at school. Together with his friends, they look for work, hang out, listen to music, smoke cigarettes and contemplate, without much enthusiasm, their possible futures.

Imbued with a typically teenage yearning to be elsewhere, Thomas Arslan’s first feature—set in his hometown of Essen—is sensitive to the lethargy, malaise, and tension of being on the edge of adulthood. Ignore the title: death metal is often on full volume in this film of small rebellions.