Screening at Cinema by Velotel

The film is a suspenseful blend of psychological thriller, esoteric drama, and coming-of-age story. Lea is a 14-year-old teenager who grows up in an isolated environment with her parents and her mentally disabled brother Paul as part of an esoteric sect.

She believes humanity originally came from the planet Jupiter and plans to transfer their souls there through a mystical ritual coinciding with the flyby of the comet Calypso—a collective suicide born of spiritual despair.

Initially Lea is convinced, but the closer she gets to the ritual, the more she doubts.

She manipulates her infusor while her parents and the rest of the sect fall unconscious—and flees to freedom. In the final panel, Calypso streaks across the sky as a fireball—whether the sect actually reaches Jupiter is left to the imagination.

Following the screening, a Q&A with director Benjamin Pfohl and actress Laura Tonke.

© Sophie Schwarzenberger. / © Joachim Ger