When teacher Babette dies in an absurd accident, husband Markus (Wotan Wilke Möhring) and 15-year-old daughter Kim (Helen Woigk) are left to pick up the pieces.

While he tries to hide his pain behind a brave face and insists that life will continue as normal, he cannot let go of her memory. Alienated by his behaviour as she struggles to cope with her own grief, Kim retreats further into her Goth-girl persona, eventually running away to Denmark with her boyfriend.

Accompanied by his mother Gerlinde (Christine Schorn) and her carer, Markus sets off to find his daughter and salvage their relationship. The film deals with its subject matter with a pleasingly light touch, using humour to keep cheap sentimentality at bay. The fine performances and well-drawn characters imbue the relationships with genuine warmth throughout, making for a surprisingly uplifting film about grief and loss.

This screening will be followed by a reception courtesy of the German Embassy Dublin.

This is screening as part of IFI Kinofest, a celebration of German cinema presented in partnership with Goethe-Institut Irland, October 10th – 13th.