EFF: Places in the Sun

Sonnenplätze

Australian Premiere

Aspiring author Samuela is impatiently waiting for her breakthrough. When her boyfriend dumps her, she and her teenage brother take a secret trip to their family’s vacation home in Lanzarote so that she can continue to work on her novel, and instead of the peace and quiet they had hoped for, they discover that their estranged father has been living in the house since his divorce. When Samuela’s mother (Juliane Köhler, Downfall) and her new boyfriend suddenly appear, mayhem ensues, and a family reunion that no one asked for unfolds.

Aaron Arens expertly mines these fractured family dynamics in this award-winning film, extracting comedy gold as secrets are uncovered, and brief truces are formed only to explode again.

The cast are in fine form, particularly Niels Bormann as a misanthropic patriarch with writer's block who sees a shot at redemption when he teams up with his daughter who has her own literary aspirations.

Festivals & Awards

Winner of Best Screenplay at the Munich Film Festival 2024

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

93 min

Country

Germany

Language

German, English, Spanish (English Subtitles)

Cast

Julia Windischbauer, Juliane Köhler, Niels Bormann, Jeremias Meyer, Jeremy Mockridge

Director

Aaron Arens