# Finsterworld

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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{short description|2013 German motion picture drama}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Finsterworld
| image          = Finsterworld poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Film poster
| director       = [Frauke Finsterwalder](/source/Frauke_Finsterwalder) 
| producer       = 
| writer         = Frauke Finsterwalder<br>[Christian Kracht](/source/Christian_Kracht)
| starring       = [Margit Carstensen](/source/Margit_Carstensen)<br>[Sandra Hüller](/source/Sandra_H%C3%BCller)<br>[Corinna Harfouch](/source/Corinna_Harfouch)<br>[Christoph Bach](/source/Christoph_Bach_(actor))<br>[Carla Juri](/source/Carla_Juri)<br>[Jakub Gierszał](/source/Jakub_Giersza%C5%82)
| music          = 
| cinematography = 
| editing        = 
| studio         = <!-- or: | production companies = -->
| distributor    = <!-- or: | distributors = -->
| released       = {{Film date|2013|08|30|Montréal World Film Festival}}
| runtime        =
| country        = Germany
| language       = German
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}

'''''Finsterworld''''' is a 2013 [German](/source/German_film) [cringe comedy](/source/cringe_comedy) drama directed by [Frauke Finsterwalder](/source/Frauke_Finsterwalder), her debut feature film. Co-written by Finsterwalder and [Christian Kracht](/source/Christian_Kracht), it follows interconnected, parallel stories over the course of one day in Germany.

The title ''Finsterworld'' is a play on Finsterwalder's surname, which can be translated to [English](/source/English_language) as "from the dark forest (cf forest ~ wood)". It is not to be confused with the Dutch village of [Finsterwolde](/source/Finsterwolde), indeed meaning "dark forest", "dark wood". Finsterwalders ancestry might well be traced back to this village, given its proximity to the German border, the fact that Dutch 'Finsterwolder' also means "from Finsterwolde" and German "wald" has the same root as Dutch "wold(e), woud(e)", common parts of toponyms both in the Netherlands and in Germany.

== Premise ==
''Finsterworld'' is an ensemble piece with twelve main characters<ref>{{cite news|last=Schröder|first=Christian|title=Nebel mit Köpfen|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/im-kino-finsterworld-nebel-mit-koepfen/8937700.html|accessdate=16 October 2013|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel}}</ref> who are gradually shown to interconnect with each other. These include a pedicurist, three generations of the Sandberg family, and a documentarist and her policeman boyfriend, who is secretly a [furry](/source/Furry_fandom).

== Cast ==

* [Christoph Bach](/source/Christoph_Bach_(actor)) as Lehrer Nickel
* [Margit Carstensen](/source/Margit_Carstensen) as Frau Sandberg
* [Jakub Gierszał](/source/Jakub_Giersza%C5%82) as Maximillian Sandberg
* [Corinna Harfouch](/source/Corinna_Harfouch) as Inga Sandberg
* [Sandra Hüller](/source/Sandra_H%C3%BCller) as Franziska Feldenhoven
* [Carla Juri](/source/Carla_Juri) as Natalie
* [Johannes Krisch](/source/Johannes_Krisch) as Einsiedler
* [Michael Maertens](/source/Michael_Maertens) as Claude Petersdorf
* [Dieter Meier](/source/Dieter_Meier) as Furrier
* Max Pellney as Jonas
* Leonard Scheicher as Dominik
* Bernard Schütz as Georg Sandberg
* [Ronald Zehrfeld](/source/Ronald_Zehrfeld) as Tom

==Production and release==
The film was shot at various locations in [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria) and [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania).

Its world premiere was at the 2013 [Montréal World Film Festival](/source/Montr%C3%A9al_World_Film_Festival).<ref name=hr>{{cite web|last=van Hoeij|first=Boyd|title=Finsterworld: Montreal Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/finsterworld-montreal-review-612680|work=Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=16 October 2013|date=31 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/the_montreal_world_film_festival/finsterworld_world_film_festival_montreal_2013_international_premiere|title=FINSTERWORLD - World Film Festival Montreal 2013 international premiere|work=www.filmfestivals.com|accessdate=25 May 2020}}</ref>

It opened in German cinemas in October 2013, in Austria in January 2014 and in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) in March 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Christian Kracht wurde in der Schule als "Hydromane" verdächtigt|url=http://www.focus.de/kultur/vermischtes/finsterworld-christian-kracht-wurde-in-der-schule-als-hydromane-verdaechtigt_aid_1128163.html|work=Focus.de|accessdate=16 October 2013|date=13 October 2013|archive-date=16 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016203105/http://www.focus.de/kultur/vermischtes/finsterworld-christian-kracht-wurde-in-der-schule-als-hydromane-verdaechtigt_aid_1128163.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
The film features an original score by composer Michaela Melián, singer of the German [new wave](/source/New_wave_music) band [FSK](/source/FSK_(band)), and is bookended by the song "The Wind" by [Cat Stevens](/source/Cat_Stevens).

==Critical response==
''[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)'' praised its "sophisticated screenplay", "beautiful camerawork" and "very solid line-up of actors".<ref name=hr/> ''[Die Welt](/source/Die_Welt)'' called it a "masterpiece".<ref>{{cite news|last=Rosenfelder|first=Andreas|title=Tristesse Royale im Konzentrationslager|url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/kino/article120888818/Tristesse-Royale-im-Konzentrationslager.html|accessdate=16 October 2013|newspaper=Die Welt|date=14 October 2013}}</ref>

==Awards==
It won the Bronze Zenith at the 2013 [Montréal World Film Festival](/source/Montr%C3%A9al_World_Film_Festival), as well as the 2013 TV-Spielfilm-Award at Germany’s [Cologne Conference](/source/Cologne_Conference).<ref>{{cite web|title=Spielfilm-Award|website=Cologne-conference.de|url=http://www.cologne-conference.de/en/reception/award-ceremony/tv-spielfilm-award/|access-date=17 October 2013|archive-date=10 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210211210/http://www.cologne-conference.de/en/reception/award-ceremony/tv-spielfilm-award/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the 2013 [Zurich Film Festival](/source/Zurich_Film_Festival), it won the Critics' Choice award, and prize for the best German-language feature film. The film was nominated for best fiction debut at [Camerimage](/source/Camerimage) festival in Poland.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mitchell|first=Wendy|title=Zurich winners include Golden Cage, Finsterworld|url=https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/zurich-winners-include-golden-cage-finsterworld/5062193.article|work=[Screendaily.com](/source/Screen_International)|date=6 October 2013}}</ref> It has also garnered nominations for best feature film debut at Munich’s 2013 [Filmfest München](/source/Filmfest_M%C3%BCnchen) and three nominations for the 2013 [Preis der deutschen Filmkritik](/source/Preis_der_deutschen_Filmkritik), winning best German screenplay,<ref>{{cite web|title=Finsterworld|website=Vdfk.de|url=http://www.vdfk.de/news/view/150-nominierungen-preis-der-deutschen-filmkritik-2013|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-date=16 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116072324/http://www.vdfk.de/news/view/150-nominierungen-preis-der-deutschen-filmkritik-2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as five nominations for the [Deutscher Filmpreis](/source/Deutscher_Filmpreis), with [Sandra Hüller](/source/Sandra_H%C3%BCller) winning best supporting actress. In 2014, it won best female directed film at [Edinburgh International Film Festival](/source/Edinburgh_International_Film_Festival), as well as a nomination for the [Fipresci](/source/Fipresci) Prize at the [Jerusalem Film Festival](/source/Jerusalem_Film_Festival).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title}}

{{Christian Kracht}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:German drama films
Category:2013 films
Category:2013 German films
Category:Furry fandom
Category:Films with screenplays by Christian Kracht
Category:Films directed by Frauke Finsterwalder

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Finsterworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finsterworld) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finsterworld?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.