My Strange Homeland
José is born on the floor of a mud hut in a Bolivian mountain village. He is the fourth child of a herdswoman. A few months later, he arrives at the house of his adoptive family in Germany. José Noé Estrada becomes Manuel Phillip Sosnowski. Thirty years later, he returns to his mother’s country for the first time.
A film about belonging.
Cast
- as himself
- Manuel Sosnowski
My Strange Homeland
Marius Brüning, Johannes Preuß
- Documentary
- Production Country / Year
- Germany 2021
- Language
- dt., span., qu. OF m. dt. UT
- Format
- DCP, Color, 94min
2.39:1, Discrete 5.1
- Original Title
- Mein Fremdes Land
Director & Crew
Marius Brüning
Born in 1990 in Ochtrup. Studied German Philology and Political Science in Düsseldorf, followed by internships in the film industry and studies at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg. Active as writer, director, and editor.
Filmography
| 2016 | Heimat gegen Kohle | Kurzdokumentarfilm | |
| 2017 | Auf Taten folgen Worte | Kurzdokumentation | |
| 2018 | Ost / West – Relikte einer Grenze | Kurzdokumentarfilm | |
| 2021 | Mein fremdes Land | Dokumentarfilm Co-Regie |
2021 |
Johannes Preuß
Born in 1983 in Berlin. Studied Political Science, History, and Romance Languages in Bonn. Worked as producer and writer for German development cooperations. Studied at the Film Academy
Filmography
| 2017 | Galamsey – für eine Handvoll Gold | Kurzdokumentarfilm | |
| 2018 | Auf Strasse 7 ins Herz von Patagonien | Kurzdokumentarfilm Co-Regie |
|
| 2021 | Nollywood | Dokumentarfilm | |
| Mein fremdes Land | Dokumentarfilm Co-Regie |
2021 |
“We know Manuel from our studies at the Film Academy. We spent days and nights together in the editing room—he as editor, we as directors. The idea for this film came from Manuel himself. It’s not in him to be in the limelight. Manuel is rather the involuntary protagonist of a story he wanted to make possible. And there is another reason: He was missing something to really tackle this difficult journey. The filming of his story, the search as a film project gave him the necessary distance to face the emotional challenges. The project evolved out of Manuel’s trust in us to tell the story appropriately and unadorned. Time and time again, we’ve heard from Manuel about how happy he is to be living his dreams in Germany. Life in Germany should be a given for Manuel. But it isn’t. We didn’t really understand why until after the trip.”
- Writer
- Marius Brüning
- Johannes Preuß
- Director of Photography
- Johannes Preuß
- Editor
- Tobias Wilhelmer
- Sound
- Marius Brüning
- Malte Schumacher
- Valentin Burkhardt
- Sound Designer
- Claudio Demel
- Marvin H. Keil
- Marco Schnebel
- Music Composer
- Chiara Strickland
- TV Commissioning Editor
- Joachim Lang
- Executive Producer
- Malte Schumacher
- Producer
- Malte Schumacher