Alemania – Schools Screening

Sixteen-year-old Lola is studying for her resits when an opportunity to study for a semester in Germany arises. She wants to travel, but her parents, bogged down by her elder sister’s mental disorder, don’t want her to go. The strenuous family dynamics and her eroding relationship with her sister make Lola insist on travelling and start looking for experiences that may provide her with a different perspective on herself and her circumstances.

Alemania offers an honest and moving perspective on how mental illness affects a family and, especially, a young person.

Advisory

Sex references, alcohol consumption (but not drunkenness), smoking, scenes showing risky behaviour associated to mental health condition.

CfE: Third/Fourth Levels and Senior Phase

Themes: Mental illness and its destabilising effect on a family, economic difficulty, sisterly bonds, autonomy and teenage freedom, exploring one’s identity, travelling to leave one’s home.