Auf Augenhöhe (2016)

As a child in care, Michi has to stand up for himself every day within his group home and fight for the respect of the other children. When he finds the address of his unknown father, his greatest longing seems about to be fulfilled. His horror is all the greater when he realizes that his father, Tom, is a “dwarf,” almost shorter than Michi himself, and therefore the opposite of masculinity and strength in Michi’s eyes. Tom, who had no idea he was a father, finds his new role completely unfamiliar, while Michi immediately knows he wants nothing to do with this anti-father. But it is too late, because in his initial excitement he has already written Tom a letter. Michi returns to his group home, ashamed. But when Tom shows up there and the children discover that Michi’s father is a little person, Michi becomes the target of ridicule and bullying. In desperation, he runs away. His attempt to escape fails, however, and he has no choice but to move in with his father. Against his will, Michi now has to come to terms with Tom, with the way people perceive him in public, and with his own embarrassment about him. He tries every trick he can think of to stop his new girlfriend Katja and her circle of friends from finding out who his father is, and denies knowing Tom in front of them. Tom, meanwhile, who had so far come to terms with his short stature, is forced by Michi’s unabashed rejection to deal with his disability openly. Over time, the two discover that they actually have far more in common than ordinary sons and fathers. But when it unexpectedly turns out that Michi is not Tom’s son after all, and the youth welfare office tracks down Michi’s biological father, their now close relationship is suddenly called into question again, fundamentally and painfully for them both.