Noel Okwanga in the opening film of the 2025 Berlinale
After seven years and four seasons of the TV series "Babylon Berlin", writer and director Tom Tykwer has made another film for the big screen with DAS LICHT.
Here Tykwer paints the portrait of a family caught between collapse and new beginnings, addressing the great themes of our present in a world that is reeling. Tim (Lars Eidinger), Milena (Nicolette Krebitz), their nearly grown-up twins, and the illegitimate son Dio — this is the Engels family, seemingly held together by nothing any more, until housekeeper Farrah enters their lives. The mysterious Syrian woman puts the Engels family's emotional world to an unexpectedly wild test.
Tom Tykwer on his film: "After quite a long time spent with 'Babylon Berlin' in the roaring twenties, I am finally able to turn back to our present. In DAS LICHT there is arguing, wrestling and fighting, but there is also laughter, singing and dancing. The film seeks to challenge the full spectrum of emotions and the storytelling possibilities that come with them. And the characters are very familiar to me. So I want to try to mirror their inner turmoil and, at the same time, their connectedness for the audience, and make it palpable.
Filming took place in Berlin and the surrounding area, North Rhine-Westphalia and Kenya.
X Filme Creative Pool
Director: Tom Tykwer
Casting: Alexandra Montag
In German cinemas: 20 March 2025, released by X Verleih and distributed by Warner Bros. World distribution is handled by Beta Film.