City of the World

In the night of June 16th 2004, in a picturesque East German town, two drunken teenage boys attacked a homeless man in the streets. When they realized that he had no valuables, they bashed him and set him on fire.

City of the World portrays five characters, 24 hours prior to the crime: the drunken teenagers Karsten and Till, Till’s girlfriend Steffi, the policeman Guenter, and the snack bar owner Heinrich. Based on a true story, the film depicts an aspect of German society that is often overlooked. The media only treats it with lurid headlines and fake contempt. But what is really going on?

Karsten, Till, Steffi, Guenter and Heinrich are average Germans, living a small-town life, in a state of mediocrity and apathy. But sometimes indifference turns into aggression, boredom into violence. The film shows an aspect of small-town banalities, social brutalization and a deeply aggressive youth sub culture.
Source: German Films Service & Marketing GmbH