Becoming Black

A white couple in East Berlin in the 1960s tell their daughter that her dark skin is pure chance. The girl also wants to believe it, but she discovers the truth at the age of 12. The child in the film is also its director Ines Johnson-Spain. In BECOMING BLACK (g 2019), she explores the taboo that overshadowed everything in her childhood and depicts the structural racism of the GDR. In conjunction with a touching meeting with the director's late-found Togolese family, the film becomes a reflection on identity, family concepts and social norms. (js)