Dark, stylish and sensitive, with plenty of stunts to boot, EX was joint winner of last year's Prize for Promising Directors at Munich. This not only marked out Mark Schlichter as a name to watch, but propelled his debut feature - basically just a final film for his course at the German Film and Television Academy - to the big screen.

A Rebel Without a Cause set in 90s Berlin, EX is the story of a teenage gang whose sole purpose in life seems to be taking drugs and racing stolen cars. Sarah falls in love with newcomer Robert, but her boyfriend Mario is the none-too-pleased gang leader. Crazy with jealousy, Mario accepts a commission to steal a car, gets a pistol and tries to kill Robert.

Made for under $US500,000, EX was funded by the German Film and Television Academy, plus TV networks ZDF and Arte, and released in Germany last January. Sabine Pfeiffer of Jost Hering Filmproduktion describes its performance as "satisfactory", pointing out that lack of advertising funding would have hampered its box-office potential.

"That's why Prague is so important to us as an international platform," she explains, highlighting the film's universal elements. "It's about youth, a generation without a secure future."

Adam Minns

Prod co: Jost Hering Filmproduktion

Prod: Sabine Pfeifer

Dir: Mark Schlichter

Scr: Mark Schlichter, Oskar Roehler, Robert Sauer

Ph: Carl F Koschnick

Ed: Monika Kappi-Smith

Prod des: Marc Tillman

Cast: Robert Viktor Minich, Andreas Dinah Diakité, Anna Thalbach, Christiane Paul

Running time: 84 mins

International sales: Jost Hering

Screenings: 23 June 20.00 Blaník, 24 June 15.00 Lucerna

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