Project Information
29:26 min
Digital
Color and Black & White
Sound
Language: German and English
Subtitles: English and German
Directors: Julia Novacek, Ruby Behrmann
Concept: Julia Novacek, Ruby Behrmann, Evamaria Müller
Director of Photography: Francy Fabritz
Production: Studio Studio GbR – Mariya Barashka, Julia Novacek, Ruby Behrmann, Evamaria Müller
Protagonists: Kenneth Bakos, Hannah Flach, Sarah Flach, Reiner Frank, Lene Hansel, Rudy Honings, Neele Kauck, Norbert Lohfink, Anette Müth, Dietmar Müth, Dunja Müth-Rödling, Liana Müller, Lena Peppel, Edgar Röder, Milena Röder, Oliver Röder, Sam Simpson, Ingrid Will, Florian Zimmermann, Gerhard Zimmermann
Editing: Julia Novacek, Anatoli Skatchkov
Camera Assistants: Micaela Masetto, Anouk Schmit
Second Camera & Lighting: Janne Ebel
Dramaturgy: Ruby Behrmann, Evamaria Müller
Production Management: Mariya Barashka, Ruby Behrmann, Alessia Neumann
Production Assistant: Laura Kienzle
Sound Recordists: Evamaria Müller, Teresa Schwind
Second Sound Recordist: Lisa Puchner
Production Design & Costume Design: Evamaria Müller
Music & Sound Design: Evamaria Müller
Sound Mix: Sebastian Meyer
Color Grading: Alex Beyer
Additional Video Footage: Anatoli Skatchkov
Radio Voice: Leonhard Srajer
Hunting Horn Players: The Ober-Seemen Sunday Horn Players
Title Design & Graphics: Beatrice Bianchini, Anna Sukhova
Subtitles: Dalibor Mikić
Supported by: HessenFilm und Medien GmbH; FLUX Theater und Schule, funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts; Phase 3B funding from the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts; as part of the program “tanz+theater machen stark” of the Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research; Fonds Darstellende Künste, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
About
In the small german village of Volkartshain, an almost forgotten soccer field holds the memory of post-war Germany, the USA, and the Vietnam War. Amid depopulation, crumbling infrastructure, and growing isolation, the abandoned field becomes a space of shared memory and longing. Three generations face the pressures of demographic change with resilience and connection. Letting go is not an option.
Synopsis
On the edge of the Hessian village of Volkartshain lies an almost forgotten soccer field – a place where history, memory, and community intersect. In 1966, a US reconnaissance plane crashes nearby, narrowly avoiding a huge disaster. The unexpected encounter between villagers and US soldiers sparks an extraordinary partnership, culminating in the creation of the village’s long-awaited soccer field – a new heart for the community.
Today, the field is overgrown, silent, and abandoned. It reflects the broader challenges facing rural life: depopulation, crumbling infrastructure, and growing isolation. But it also carries the weight of memories, hopes, and the enduring bonds of community.
Farewell Game follows three generations of villagers as they confront loss, change, and their shared past. Through resilience, connection, and a refusal to let go, they search for new ways of coming together in a world that is constantly shifting. The film is a meditation on memory, belonging, and the determination to preserve what matters most – proving that letting go is never easy, and sometimes, it is simply not an option.
© Studio Studio GbR, 2025