DIE SCHWARZEN BRÜDER

A FILM BY XAVIER KOLLER

SYNOPSIS Up to the middle of the 19th century poor Alpine farmers in Ticino sold their children as chimney sweeps in Milan. This is also the fate of the young Giorgio. He has to climb up and down dark chimneys, scraping away the soot with his bare hands. But he doesn’t give up: with his fellow victims, he forms the community of “Black Brothers.” They unite and defend themselves against the abject conditions and the attacks of bands of street urchins in Milan. The film tells the adventurous story of the young chimney sweeps and their spectacular escape back to Switzerland.
CREDITS WORLD PREMIERE: September 2013
ORIGINAL VERSION: German (french/english subtitles)
PRODUCTION: Enigma Film GmbH, ARD Degeto, Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Starhaus Filmproduktion GmbH, Herold Productions, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera, Bayerischer Rundfunk, WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, ARTE G.E.I.E.
PRODUCER: Fritjof Hohagen, Clarens Grollmann, Karin Koch, Rainer Kölmel, Wasiliki Blesser, Wolfgang Herold, Stephan O. Hansch, Alexander Loskant
DIRECTED BY: Xavier Koller
WRITTEN BY: Klaus Richter, Fritjof Hohagen (based on a novel by Lisa Tetzner and Kurt Held)