Western

An intense, slow-burning thriller, WESTERN follows a group of German construction workers installing a hydroelectric plant in remote rural Bulgaria. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure, but tensions mount when Meinhard, the strong, silent newcomer to the group, starts mixing with the local villagers. The two sides speak different languages and share a troubled history. Can they learn to trust each other — or is the stage being set for a showdown?

Drawing remarkably nuanced performances from a cast of non-professionals, Valeska Grisebach uses the trappings of the western genre to poke and prod at current anxieties about borders and our relationships with our neighbors. With sweeping cinematography and tightly modulated pacing, WESTERN tells a universal story of masculinity and xenophobia on the contemporary frontier of Eastern Europe.

"Beautifully complicated, rigorously straightforward... WESTERN is as precise as a dropped pin on a GPS map, which makes its sense of mystery all the more powerful." —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"There are no stagecoaches or six-shooters in this sharp, simmering drama of German-Bulgarian discord, but the spirit of John Ford graces it." —Guy Lodge, Variety

CAST & CREW
Meinhard Neumann ............................... Meinhard
Reinhardt Wetrek .................................... Vincent
Syuleyman Alilov Lefitov ......................... Adrian
Veneta Frangova ..................................... Veneta
Vyara Borisova ........................................ Vyara
Kevin Bashev .......................................... Wanko

Written and Directed by Valeska Grisebach
Producers: Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade, Valeska Grisebach, Michel Merkt
Director of Photography: Bernhard Keller
Editor: Bettina Böhler
Casting: Katrin Vorderwülbecke, Yoana Ilieva
Production Design: Beatrice Shultz
Art Direction: Michael Randel
Costume Design: Veronika Albert
Produced by Komplizen Film