Info
Also in this program
Logline
“Believe in yourself” is the message of this quirky, hilarious road movie, which doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Science and religion often aren’t compatible, as twelve-year-old Ulja Funk starts to realize. She enjoys observing the night sky through her telescope and exchanging ideas with like-minded people on the Internet. She’s even discovered a small asteroid that will strike Belarus in a few days. But while the strangest remarks earn wild applause in the church service for children, her description of the asteroid provokes outrage. Ulja’s curiosity is also too much for her devout grandmother, who promptly gets rid of everything having to do with science. But Ulja is not put off by this. She and her classmate Henk, who doesn’t know much but is able to drive a car, set off for Belarus in the Funk family hearse. Hot on their heels are her parents and half the congregation.
Recommended for ages 8 and up.
You can buy tickets for the screening at the associated cinema RIO Filmpalast here.
Meet the director
Barbara Kronenberg
Barbara Kronenberg was born in Bochum in 1980. She was a software developer before earning a bachelor’s degree in media production and going on to study screenwriting and directing at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. Her graduation film, DIE BALLADE VON ELLA PLUMMHOFF, was screened at various international festivals, including FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH 2016. Kronenberg is an alumna of the Akademie für Kindermedien and of Serial Eyes, a European training program for television writers and producers. MISSION ULJA FUNK is her feature-film debut.