Protagonists
About the protagonists in "Youth Outcry"
Clara (17 Jahre)
She is paying a high price for her first big appearance as an accusatory speaker before the VW shareholders' meeting: abuse, stalking and media defamation on a scale that sends her into a panic. Nevertheless, a week later, before the European elections, the student stands undaunted at the Brandenburg Gate and speaks to 15,000 strikers. But the emotional challenge becomes even greater when she begins her work in the intensive care unit shortly before Corona.
Elias (14 Jahre)
When director Kathrin Pitterling meets the boy with braces for the first time, the 14-year-old is shy about recording a video selfie for the film. He would rather write a diary to show what he experiences at Fridays for Future. His development is so enormous that only six months later he is standing fearlessly at the Brandenburg Gate in front of over 100,000 people. His 16th birthday falls on the first demo in Corona times. His time in the movement has pushed Elias to his limits and shaped him into a fearless young man.
Famke (15 Jahre)
Her daily routine: Friday demo. Sunday 3 hours internal video conference. Monday 3.5 hours evaluation of Friday and planning of the next demo. Tuesday 4 hours open plenary and another meeting of the core organ group, which Famke leads. In parallel she managed her MSA. After losing the core organisation and other tasks, Famke fell into a deep hole from which she is trying to fight her way back.
Luisa (22 Jahre)
Like no other, she is both in the limelight and under criticism. And this both on the part of her opponents and her own ranks. When she attends the World Climate Summit in Katowice with Greta Thunberg, the geography student spontaneously decides to bring Fridays for Future to Germany and organises the first strike in Berlin within just one week. A short time later, an open assassination order is launched against her.
Moritz (21 Jahre)
Moritz is on the front line. At the demos, he becomes an expert on security. This includes confrontations with right-wing provocateurs. When a YouTuber convicted of incitement of the people calls on his fellow thinkers to come to a demo of children and young people, it becomes Moritz's job to find him. The 21-year-old must not allow himself to be provoked under any circumstances and must calmly and firmly ask the man to leave. Only then can the police intervene. An extreme situation that he experiences for the first time.
Paul (17 Jahre)
It was the girl from the Marshall Islands whose fate shook him. She told him that her homeland will be washed over by the sea in 2050. Her grief did not let him go. That's why Paul came to the Fridays for Future open plenary in early March. Paul is a passionate chess player and describes himself as a free spirit. For him, there is no contradiction when he decides to go on a world tour. He "wants to see the world while it still stands."
Silvan (14 Jahre)
His smile full of joie de vivre, his clothes expressive orange – 14-year-old Silvan is bubbling over with enthusiasm and willingness to help when he joins Fridays for Future at the beginning of 2019. For almost a year, he hands out flyers, gives his first speech and helps with set-up and technology – until he drops out and distances himself from the movement. At this point, he says about himself: "I became the person I never wanted to be."
Willi (17 Jahre)
"You asked me last time if I was afraid and I answered in the negative," Willi begins the second conversation with director Kathrin Pitterling. "Your question didn't let me go ... and today I have to say: Yes! I am afraid." It is this fear of not being able to convince enough people to save us from the climate catastrophe that has turned the delicate first violinist in the Spandau Youth Orchestra into an increasingly radical advocate of civil disobedience.