Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark. (2014)

Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.: Directed by Burhan Qurbani. With Jonas Nay, Trang Le Hong, Devid Striesow, Joel Basman. On 24th August 1992 in the eastern German city of Rostock a rampaging mob, to the applause and cheering of more than 3,000 bystanders, besieged and set fire to a residential building containing, among others, more than 120 Vietnamese men, women and children on what has since become known as “The Night of the Fire.” The riots became a symbol for xenophobia in the just recently reunited Germany. This film recounts the incident from the perspectives of three very different characters. Lien is a Vietnamese woman who settled in Germany, but at the end of the day she will be fighting for her life wondering if the place she called home could ever be one for her. Stefan and his friends are part of the night’s violent turmoil. Young and angry, bored during the daytime, they look forward to the nightly riots and clashes with the police and foreigners. Unable to cope with his grief at the loss of a friend, Stefan gets lost in a circle of violence. Stefan’s father Martin is an ambitious local politician, trapped in a dilemma: does he advance his career or stand up for his ideals and take responsibility, which includes that for his son?

“Tis movie tells real a real event in 1992, Rostock-Lichtenhagen, a German city where a group of young Neo-Nazis burnt a refugee facility, followed by the applause of 3000 residents. The movie shows how it came to the riots, by a fictive group of young people which donu0026#39;t like to suffer in despair, which have too much time, too much criminal energy and which donu0026#39;t trust on the state. The fictive group of young men stand for the guys who did this in real. I know, when it happened, I was a young man. And eventhough I live in another federal state of Germany, I still know that I knew it was a bad sign for the future. This movie is filmed in b/w and thatu0026#39;s good. The colorless pictures give a good guess, how this people hated. My heart is with the people of vietnam who suffered the hate at this day. Very good movie, it actually shows the spirit of that time. I recommend it to all people who want to know more about the incidents of Rostock-Lichtenhagen.”