Unzertrennlich (2019)

• 58%
• 2019
• Documentary
• Frauke Lodders

Eymen, Eray, Gustaf, Max and Svea are fundamentally different: from their age, their social environment, their faith and their interests. What they have in common is a special position within their family structure. They are what is often called "shadow children" in the jargon of psychology. As siblings of children who are chronically ill or have a short life span or are disabled, they have to deal with issues such as responsibility, renunciation and loss much earlier than their peers. Their reality is fundamentally different from that of other children and young people in Germany. Quietly observing and with great respect for all family members, the film approaches the different life realities of the siblings and introduces them to their everyday life. An everyday life that remains hidden to most people, even if about 4 million people in the country have a brother or sister who is chronically or life-shorteningly ill or disabled. The retreat of the affected families into the private sphere as well as the social repression and tabooing of illness and death - especially when it comes to children - contribute their part to the fact that the life experiences, the problems, but also the special competences of the "shadow children" are still hardly perceived publicly.