Anke retires from her job at the church in a small town in the Black Forest. She looks forward to reuniting with her children over the summer holidays by the Baltic Sea, at a place where they used to live as a young family, and where she lived her best years. At the last minute, her son Max is unable to join them because of the pro-democracy protests that are bringing Hong Kong, where he lives, to a standstill. She has been out of touch with him for many years and after an otherwise uneventful summer and facing the void of retirement, she decides to visit him. A mother wants to check in on her children every now and then, but Hong Kong is also her adventure. She takes up residence in his flat while Max is away on a business trip and cautiously begins to navigate this mysterious new world. Through conversations with strangers, she gradually settles in. A young woman who is sad to leave Hong Kong, Max’s doorman, a psychiatrist, a fortune teller and a social activist. These encounters and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago and make way for a new chapter in her life.  

Screenwriter, Director, Editor

JONAS BAK

Producer

CHARLOTTE LELONG

Co-Producers

ULLA LEHMANN, ANDREA ROGGON

Cinematographer

ALEX GRIGORAS

Sound

CHRIS GAYNE, JEREMIE VERNEREY, ALBERT HUNG KIN KONG, ISAAC BERTULIS

Camera Assistant

THOMAS ROWE

Assistant Director

ADRIANA PRAXMARER

Gaffer

HSIEN YU NIU

Music

“New Space Music” written and performed by BRIAN ENO

Courtesy of All Saints Records, © Universal Music Publishing Ltd on behalf of Opal Music

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Supervising Sound Designer & Re-Recording Mixer

MARIAN MENTRUP

Sound Designer & Dialogue Editor

MICHELE BRAGA    

Sound Designer

MICHAL KRAJCZOK

Foley Recordist

SERGEY IVANOV

Preliminary Sound Design

LEWIS CLARK

Cinema Re-recording Mixer

JONATHAN SCHORR

Line Producers

HEYNA WONG, ALBERTO GEROSA, LORIEN STOTZEL

Colour Grading

ALEX GRIGORAS

Visual Effects

LUKAS GEGEVICIUS

Hair & Make-Up

LENA ACKERMANN, AMREI PORTELLA

Grip

MANUEL GRIESBAUM

Fixer

TIGER KAO

Catering

NATHALIE PORTELLA, AMY ACEITUNA

Driver

KK WONG

Editing Consultant

EMRE CAGLAYAN

Artwork Design

CHARLOTTE LOUIS, THOMAS LELONG

Title Design

ROBERT GUTMANN

Artwork

MARISSA STOFFER

Photos

FRIEDHELM BAK

Shot on

KODAK FILM

Film Development & Scanning

CINELAB

Translation & Subtitling

WAY FILM GMBH

Supported By

MFG FILMFORDERUNG BADEN-WURTTEMBERG

Festival Presentation and Distribution Supported By

GERMAN FILMS

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With thanks to

THY LAB, SÜDWESTRUNDFUNK (SWR), MASTER CHRISTIAN ORTH (www.masterarts.training), HENRIK NIELSEN, PROTESTANT CHURCH GUTACH, FANGYING ANG, SOPHIE DUCHARME, WILLI WICHMANN, NEW NORDIC FILMS, TERESA KWONG, ALMUTH MEYER-ZOLLITSCH, SACHIKO AND RÉGIS LELONG

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North American Distribution

KimStim (www.kimstim.com/film/wood-and-water/)

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"El cineasta propone una reflexión sobre la validez del cine como instrumento para recuperar el pasado y mostrar el paso del tiempo. Un ejercicio que reivindica uno de los motivos de ser del arte cinematográfico.."

- Fernando Bernal, Caiman Cuadernos de Cine