Summer Storm (Sommersturm)

(here! films / regent releasing) Release Date: March 17, 2006 Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner Cast: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Alicja Bachleda-Curus, Hanno Kofler, Tristano Casanova, Juergen Tonkel, Miriam Morgenstern Plot: Tobi and Achim have been best mates for years. As cox and oarsman, they have lead their rowing club to win several rowing cups in the past and are now looking forward to win a big regatta in the countryside of Germany. But this trip isn't your usual summer camp experience and problems soon arise. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend Sandra, who's also on the team, grows more and more serious, Tobi starts to realize that his feelings for Achim run much deeper than he's willing to admit to himself. He feels confused, unsure of himself and increasingly left out by his friend Alex and the team. When Sandra's best friend Anke shows her interest in him, his anxiety starts to grow. When it turns out that the much-anticipated Berlin girls' team has been replaced by a team of athletic, cliché-bursting young gay men, Tobi and his teammates are suddenly forced to grapple with their prejudices, their fears, and, perhaps, their hidden longings. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and liberating as the summer storm that's gathering over the lake. And Tobi realizes he has to start facing some facts about himself he didn't dare to face before.