“A sexy, atmospheric mood piece that marks German writer-director Kai Kreuser as a talent to watch”
- David Rooney | Hollywood Reporter
L A B E L M E
Feature | Drama | 60’ | 2019 | Funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
No kissing. No passive penetration. For Waseem the rules are very clear: When Lars pays him for sex then only in a way that he can reconcile with his heterosexuality. On the one side the refugee from Syria living in a shelter, on the other side the wealthy German with a loft apartment - the differences couldn’t be more crass and yet both are connected by a sincere interest in each other. Their relationship is rooted in a constant alternation between dominance and longing for closeness.
The playful power struggle between the two of them reveals their inability to hide their fears and longings from one another and to keep up their carefully constructed facades.
While both struggle to uphold the labels in their head, their friendship starts to pose a real threat within the reality of Waseem’s shelter.
Language: English | Arabic | German
Crew
DIRECTOR and WRITER Kai Kreuser | PRODUCER Jenny Lorenz-Kreindl, Sonja Keßler | DOP Malte Hafner | EDITING and SOUNDDESIGN Tabea Hannappel
Cast
Renato Schuch, Nikolaus Benda
Awards and Nominations
2019 Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis - “best medium length film” - won
2019 Sehsüchte Filmfestival - “best narrative feature” - nominated
2019 Studio Hamburg Nachwuchspreis - “best narrative feature” - nominated
2019 Outfest Los Angeles - “best narrative feature” - nominated
2019 First Steps Award - “best medium length film” - nominated
2019 Raindance Filmfestival - Official Feature Film Selection
2019 Lesbian Gay Film Festival Hong Kong - Official Feature Film Selection
2019 Arab Film Festival - Official Feature Film Selection
2019 OUTshine Filmfestival - Official Feature Film Selection
2019 Image+Nation Festival - Audience Award “best Film”
2020 Rosen Filmdagen - Official Feature Film Selection
2020 Big Shorts Awards - “best Film”, “bester Actor”, “beste Director”
2020 15. Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival - Official Selection
Available on VoD and DVD | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes
VoD: Amazon Video | Vimeo
DVD: Amazon | Thalia | Weltbild | Hugendubel | JPC
