Zirkuskind

Circusboy

Santino is a circus kid. He travels around the country in a caravan with his family and animals – here today, there tomorrow. For him, rather than being a fixed place, home is his parents Angie and Gitano, his brother Giordano, countless aunties and uncles, cousins and especially his great-grandpa Ehe, one of the last grand circus impresarios in Germany. Ehe tells Santino wild stories from his long life: about the magnificent bull elephant Sahib, about his own first steps in the ring as a clown, and about the sense of freedom that makes all the hardships worthwhile. On Santino’s eleventh birthday, Ehe asks Santino what he would like to perform in the ring one day – because, after all, he too has to contribute something to their community. But how can Santino figure that out? "Zirkuskind" ("Circusboy") portrays the lives of Germany’s last nomads and what it is like to grow up in a large family with plenty of animals but without any safety net or permanent home. A documentary road movie with animated sequences about the power of belonging and community.

Source: 75. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)