West (2013 film)

West (Westen) is a 2013 German drama film directed by Christian Schwochow and written by his mother Heide Schwochow. The film is based on the German novel Lagerfeuer by Julia Franck. Westen had its premiere at the 25th Montreal World Film Festival and was released in the United States on November 7, 2014.

Plot
The film tells the story of the East German Nelly Senff and her young son Alexej, who emigrate to the Federal Republic of Germany in the late 1970s, three years after Nelly's boyfriend Wassilij was killed in an auto accident. In the west, she wants to start a new life, but at first she and Alexej land at Marienfelde refugee transit camp in West Berlin. There, Allied intelligence agencies interrogate Nelly and demand information about her dead boyfriend, who is suspected to have been a spy.

Cast

 * Jördis Triebel as Dr. Nelly Senff
 * as Alexej Senff
 * Jacky Ido as John Bird - CIA Agent
 * Anja Antonowicz as Krystyna Jablonowska
 * Ryszard Ronczewski as Jakub as Krystynas Vater
 * as Gerd Becker
 * Polina Voskresenskaya as Jelena
 * Alexander Scheer as Hans Pischke
 * as Pförtner Neumann
 * as Arthur Wilhelm
 * Tatjana Berges as Großmutter von Jelena
 * as Dame vom ärztlichen Dienst
 * as Susanne
 * Stefan Lampadius as Jürgen Lüttich
 * Gabriele Schulze as Frau Breitscheit
 * Michael Witte as Joachim Fierlinger
 * Tania Carlin as Britische Geheimdienstlerin in Zivil
 * Rike Eckermann as Britische Geheimdienstlerin
 * Carlo Ljubek as Wassilij
 * Diana Maria Breuer as Beamtin
 * Hacky Rumpel as Nachbar
 * Luise Weiß as Kellnerin

Awards and nominations

 * 2012: German Film Awards - Film Award in Gold-nomination in the category Best Screenplay - Unproduced for Heide Schwochow
 * 2013: Montréal World Film Festival - Prize Best Actress for Jördis Triebel, FIPRESCI Prize in the category World Competition for Christian Schwochow, Grand Prix des Amériques-nomination in the category World Competition for Christian Schwochow
 * 2014: Seattle International Film Festival - Golden Space Needle Award-nomination in the category Best Actress for Jördis Triebel
 * 2014: German Film Awards - Film Award in Gold in the category Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Jördis Triebel