Black dust, shrill metallic noises, dark tunnels, muscular bodies – all that is the past. At the end of 2018, extraction of coal throughout Germany came to an end. That same year, the voices of the emerging climate protest movement Fridays for Future grew louder. Against the backdrop of these media and socio-political events, the film follows five miners on their tragic, humorous and heartwarming search for a new role in life.
Thirty four to eight-year-old children spend day after day in the forest, in sunshine, rain and snow. They learn reading, writing and arithmetic along the way. Above all, they explore the forest on their own, experience the cycle of nature and seek their role in the community.
Beyond the scheduled programme of a school trip, three teenagers find ways to pass the time. Between tenderness, boredom and rejection they all try to find their own place in the group.
