BETA CINEMA PICKS UP ANDREAS DRESEN’S “LOVE, AFTER ALL” AHEAD OF ZURICH FF PREMIERE
Following the Zurich Film Festival’s announcement that it will host the world premiere of the latest film by acclaimed German auteur Andreas Dresen (Cloud 9, Stopped on Track, From Hilde, With Love), Beta Cinema today announced that it has acquired all international rights to Love, After All, which revolves around an elderly married couple facing the quiet turbulence of later life.
The story follows Lore and Harry, who have been married for 40 years. Their relationship, full of arguments, reconciliations, affection and irritation, has gradually distanced them from one another. When their little granddaughter comes to visit and their grown-up daughter Julia announces her wedding to a wealthy industrialist old enough to be her father, the couple’s stagnant routine is thrown into disarray. The impending wedding becomes a catalyst for the emergence of long-buried emotions, unspoken regrets, old affairs, and overdue conversations about unfulfilled dreams and the meaning of life in retirement.
Dagmar Manzel (According to the Plan, Schtonk) and Joachim Król (The Most Desired Man, Run Lola Run) lead the cast in this intimate portrait, with Anna von Seld (Berlin Hero, A Girl Named Willow) and Liane Düsterhöft (Sound of Falling, The Silence) in supporting roles. The film will have its Gala Premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, which runs from September 24 to October 4, 2026.
Longtime collaborator Laila Stieler (From Hilde, With Love, Gundermann, Rabiye Kurnaz Against George W. Bush) co-wrote the screenplay with Andreas Dresen, adapting the bestselling novel by Elke Heidenreich and Bernd Schroeder, which was widely praised for its dry humour and insightful observation of human relationships.
Born in Gera, Germany in 1963, Andreas Dresen studied directing at the University of Babelsberg. His film Grill Point was a worldwide success and won awards including the Silver Bear at the 2002 Berlinale. Cloud 9 (2008), an improvised drama about love and sexuality in older age, won several prizes including the Coup de Coeur jury prize in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2011 Stopped on Track won the ‘Un Certain Regard’ Award in Cannes. In 2019, Gundermann won six German Film Awards, including Best Film. Rabiye Kurnaz Vs. George W. Bush (2022), his fourth film in the Berlinale Competition, won two Silver Bears, as well as three German Film Awards. From Hilde, With Love screened in Competition at the Berlinale in 2024 and went on to receive numerous accolades, including the German Film Award in Gold for lead actress Liv Lisa Fries.
Love, After All is produced by Meike Kordes and Alexandra Kordes for Berlin-based Kordes & Kordes Film in co-production with Andreas Leusink and Andreas Dresen for Iskremas Filmproduktion and Schubert International Filmproduktion. It is supported by MBB, MDM, FFA, BKM and DFFF. Michael Hammon (Cloud 9) serves as Director of Photography and Jörg Hauschild (Cloud 9, Stopped on Track, Grill Point) as editor.
Pandora Filmverleih will release the film in German cinemas on October 8, while Beta Cinema holds all international rights.