Die stillen Trabanten (2022)

The story begins on the outskirts of Leipzig, where road workers see a refugee family whose child has died after eating an autumn crocus. A worker of Arab descent interprets for the family. After this incident, the worker befriends Jens, the owner of a snack bar, unaware that Jens lives in the same apartment block as the Arab man and has fallen in love with his wife, Aischa, whom Jens met during a cigarette break. Aischa tells Jens that she has converted to Islam, and later meets him secretly at his apartment. She confesses that she feels more comfortable with him than with her husband. Jens maintains his friendship with the worker, reads the Koran, and also visits the mosque at the end. A second storyline follows Christa, who once worked as a hotel clerk but, after becoming unemployed, now works as a cleaner for German Railways. Christa gets into trouble with her employer because she overlooked two cherry pits while cleaning. At a pub, she befriends Birgitt, a hairdresser, and develops homoerotic feelings for her. When Birgitt stops showing up at the pub for a long time, Christa becomes sad. When Birgitt reappears, she takes Christa to the staff showers at the station, where they shower together and touch each other. After quitting her job because of the trouble, Christa visits Birgitt at her apartment. The third storyline is about Erik, a security guard who encounters a mysterious young woman during his nighttime patrols. When he tries to introduce himself to her, she asks what his dog is called, and he replies that it has no name, only a number. The young woman says her name is Marishka and that she is from Ukraine. Her father served in the army and is now dead. On one of his later patrols, Erik and Marishka go for a walk together. They go to a barracks and dance together, accompanied by a Russian military orchestra.