Cocoon (Kokon)

“We're like fish in a fish tank. We keep swimming round in circles, from one end of Kotti to the other and back again, until we eventually manage to jump out of the tank.”

It's summer in Berlin-Kreuzberg, and it's hot! Towing along with her older sister Jule, Nora is a silent observer hanging out around the Kottbusser Tor underground station, at the outdoor public pool, on urban rooftops, and at parties. She is like a butterfly still in a cocoon, no longer really a caterpillar but not yet free of the husk - just like the ones she keeps in a box. When she starts menstruating for her first time during physical education class, she flees in panic to the girl's room. There, she meets her saviour, the slightly older and tougher Romy. With almost documentary-like visuals, on-the-spot everyday language, and a fine-tuned eye for depicting realities of life and age-related issues, director Leonie Krippendorff narrates a tenderly coming-of-age story. 

Image © Jost Hering Filme, Foto Martin Neumeyer