Schönefeld Boulevard (2014)

Cindy lives with her parents in Berlin-Schönefeld, not far from the airport and the construction site of Berlin Brandenburg Airport. She is currently finishing high school but still has no real idea what she will do afterward. At school, her classmates repeatedly bully Cindy for being overweight, and at home she is also subjected to her father’s mockery. Her only friend is Danny, a slightly older neighbor she hangs out with and talks to about personal matters. He is not always kind to her, either. Now he leaves her and sets off for Afghanistan with the German armed forces, leaving Cindy to fend for herself again. Cindy tries to find her own way. When she tries to return a pair of sunglasses to their rightful owner, she develops a crush on Leif, a Finnish engineer. She flirts with him, and they spend a night together. But he is married and tells Cindy they can no longer see each other. Still, Cindy grows in confidence: she is better able to stand up to her classmates, and she passes her final high-school exams. She gets in touch with a Korean engineer, who later accompanies her to the school-leaving prom. Danny returns to Schönefeld after being declared unfit for military service. But their relationship has changed, because Cindy is no longer the person she used to be. He can no longer manipulate the relationship as he has been used to doing for years, and he sinks into self-hatred. Her relationship with her parents changes, too. After the prom, while out walking, Danny tries to rape Cindy, but she manages to defend herself. They part in an argument, and Danny drives himself to his death in his father’s car. Cindy initially blames herself, but gradually finds her way out of the crisis. With the courage to live that she has found, she continues along her new path.