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Sober Together

Germany 2022 / Documentary / 117 minutes / Director: Fabian Schmalenbach / Suitable for 12 years and over

Hope for an addiction-free life

Out of addiction, into a drug-free life! "Sober Together" accompanies four people over the course of a year at Hof Fleckenbühl, a self-help facility for addicts. For many, this seems to be the last resort to abstinence. But under strict rules and without therapeutic and medical care, some of the residents reach their limits. The documentary observes its protagonists in their struggle against addiction and leaves it up to the audience to develop their own attitude towards the unusual concept of Hof Fleckenbühl.

Near Cölbe, a small town near Marburg, lies the idyllic Fleckenbühl Farm, secluded between fields - a self-help facility where addicted people have the opportunity to start a drug-free life. The concept without doctors and therapists emerged from the Berlin self-help community "Synanon" and is not without controversy. Like several hundred people every year, Miguel and Ingrid come to the farm and have to find their way around the strictly hierarchical system. The newcomers have to hand over all personal belongings such as mobile phones at the beginning. They are not allowed to leave the farm grounds unaccompanied for the first six months. Contact with people outside the farm is taboo! The rigid rules soon give Miguel stability and support. But Ingrid gets into trouble more and more often and begins to question Fleckenbühl's system.

Festivals / film awards

  • 2022: ARFF Around International Film Festival Amsterdam, NLD
  • 2022: BUEIFF International Film Festival Buenos Aires, ARG
  • 2022: Kasseler Dokfest, DE
  • 2022: Lichter Filmfest, DE, Regionaler Langfilmwettbewerb, Lobende Erwähnung

Production funding

Hessische Filmförderung/ Now: HESSENFILM nordmedia - Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen Deutscher Filmförderfonds (DFFF)

Distribution funding

Hessische Filmförderung/ Now: HESSENFILM nordmedia - Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen