Florian Riegel was born 1978 in Berlin. 2003 - 2009 studied at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, specialising in documentary filmmaking. Since 2010 working as a filmmaker and editor. Lives and works in Berlin.
Forced into homelessness, Melli, a single mother, takes her son Ben to a forest. There they build a makeshift camp, set back from the paths so that no one can find them. They think this solution is only temporary. Melli firmly believes their lives will improve soon, a feeling that is strengthened when she is employed as a trainee flight attendant. Unlike Melli, Ben actually enjoys the exciting camp trip. Life under difficult conditions further strengthens the bond between mother and son.
Marija, a young Ukrainian woman, earns a living as a cleaning woman in a hotel in Dortmund, but dreams of having her own hairstyling salon, and puts away some money each month. But when she is fired without notice, her dream is suddenly postponed to an uncertain future. Jobless and under financial pressure, she is forced to look for alternatives but, in order to achieve her goal, she is ready to discard her body, her social relationships and her own feelings.
Although a lowlander, Marco is a robust fellow. He is now working as a farmhand for mountain farmer Alois in a remote Swiss alpine village and, even at the regulars’ table at the local inn, people are slowly learning to appreciate this iced tea drinker. Anna is a local village girl; she has a daughter, Julia, from a previous relationship. Some doubt whether this new relationship will work out – but not Marco or Anna. They get married. Their love is gentle and beautiful; unable to fully fathom it, they express it in simple words. The trust between them grows and their tenderness endures; the happiness they feel at every touch is only surpassed by the warmth of stroking a cow. But soon Marco seems to be losing control of his impulses more and more often.