Prora

Prora, Rügen Island, Baltic sea. A deserted Nazi holiday camp and communist military complex - one of Germany's largest and most bizarre structures. Jan, 17, a rather timid German teenager, spends his summer holidays with his friend Matthieu, 18, a French self-proclaimed macho womanizer. After a frustrating night in the local club, the two boys decide to hang out on the beach at sunrise. What starts as an innocent game soon develops into an ambiguous confrontation, when Matthieu takes his friend along into the abandoned building, and provokes him by making fun of Germany's past. After a chase through Prora's endless hallways, Jan provokes Matthieu in return by suddenly kissing him on the lips. The two friends unexpectedly embark on an erotic game that puts their friendship at risk. Overwhelmed by their feelings, they try to escape, but they get lost in Prora's labyrinthine series of rooms and walkways. Desperate, tortured, a fight breaks out that leaves Jan alone and wounded. A few days later, Jan and Matthieu meet again on the beach. Will they become friends again before they part? A journey of self-exploration, an odyssey of male adolescence, Prora is a thrilling, tender story about love and friendship. —Stephane Riethauser