Director's Commentary
»"Lost Ones" is a universal story despite its strong regional roots. It raises the question of the tension between abuse, power and the longing for love. I am interested in characters who cling to their world. People who want to maintain their relationships, even at the price of oppression. The paralytic state of hoping, of believing in a just end, is a humility which, despite all doubts, I can only express my true respect for.
At the heart of the story is the relationship between two sisters on the threshold of adulthood. In the end they are stronger than the adults themselves. I tell of a milieu in which I myself grew up – the Baden province, the middle of the bourgeoisie, under which it rumbles. It is a tale of home: the absence of the unknown or the desire for it. A fragile balance in which disturbances are severely punished. Perhaps "Lost Ones" could be described as a modern anti-homeland film.
My story is inspired by films that know where they are set. Films with a documentary approach, like the Dardenne brothers. Films by Jon Jost, Valeska Griesebach, Götz Spielmann and others. They deal with what lies beneath the surface of normality.
"Lost Ones" is a story about the power of love in the face of betrayal. Dealing with an act for which there are no words. Holding your own truth against all reason. The attempt to abandon the lie and the impossibility of doing so. The desire for justice. A Southern German village of seven hundred souls. A family breaks up. If you look closely, it could be anywhere.«
Felix Hassenfratz