DIRECTOR: Thomas Stuber
SCREENPLAY: Thomas Stuber, Clemens Meyer. Based on a screenplay by Paul Salisbury
PRODUCERS: Undine Filter, Thomas Král, Anatol Nitschke
PHOTOGRAPHY: Peter Matjasko
EDITOR: Philipp Thomas
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Francis "Kiko" Soeder
COSTUME DESIGNER: Nadine Kremeier
MUSIC:Bert Wrede
WITH: Peter Kurth (Herbert), Udo Kroschwald (Bodo), Edin Hasanovic (Eddy), Atef Vogel (Pfleger Steffen), Kida Khodr Ramadan (Mohammed), Manfred Möck (Günther), Reiner Schöne (Specht)

REVIEWS

“Former East German boxing champion Herbert Stamm (Peter Kurth) is an abrasive, tattooed heavyweight now scraping by as a bouncer and debt collector for a local gangster. After he suddenly collapses and is diagnosed with ALS, Herbert realizes his time is limited. Longing to correct his past mistakes, Herbert reaches out to his estranged daughter (Lena Lauzemis), now a mother herself.  This reversal of the classic up-and-coming boxer narrative is elevated by Kurth’s powerful portrayal of aggression and vulnerability, as well as cinematographer Peter Matjasko’s gritty depiction of Leipzig’s underbelly.”

​— American Cinematheque

“The ballad of a washed-up ex-boxer searching for redemption in a Fassbinder-style demi-monde of lost souls, A Heavy Heart is a bleak but powerful character study…  The essential plot has many parallels to Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler… but it remains sufficiently gripping thanks largely to an impressively muscular performance by Kurth, who convincingly maps all the psychological stages of his decline from raging bully to wounded, soulful, remorseful ruin. In case it's not clear, this is not an ideal first-date movie, but it still lands a few knockout emotional blows.”

— Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter

FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS*

Palmerston North     
Wednesday, 5May, 6:00pm

Nelson     
Tuesday, 18 May, 6:00pm

Timaru     
Monday, 31 May, 6:00pm

Hamilton     
Monday, 14 June, 7:30pm

Auckland     
Monday, 21 June, 6:15pm

Whanganui     
Monday, 28 June, 7:00pm

​*Non-members welcome by donation (notes only please)​
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German Cinema selection presented in
co-operation with the Goethe-Institut