Slideshow Image

Nowhere in Africa

Directed by Caroline Link

Germany | 141 minutes | 2001

English, Swahili, German with English subtitles

A love story spanning two continents, Nowhere in Africa is the extraordinary true tale of a Jewish family who flees the Nazi regime in 1938 for a remote farm in Kenya. Abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany, Walter Redlich, his wife Jettel (Juliane Köhler, of Aimee and Jaguar) and their five-year-old daughter Regina each deal with the harsh realities of their new life in different ways. Attorney Walter is resigned to working the farm as a caretaker; pampered Jettel resists adjustment at every turn; while the shy yet curious Regina immediately embraces the country learning the local language and customs, and finding a friend in Owuor, the farm s cook. As the war rages on the other side of the world, the trio s relationships to their strange environment become increasingly complicated as Jettel grows more self-assured and Walter more haunted by the life they left behind. As they eventually learn to cherish their life in Africa, they also endeavor to find a way back to each other. Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, as well as five German Film Awards (Golden Lolas), including Best Film, Director, and Cinematography, Nowhere In Africa is based on the best-selling autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig.
Foreign Title Nirgendwo in Afrika
Director Caroline Link
Countries of Production Germany
Year of Presentation 2001
Language(s) English, Swahili, German with English subtitles
Premiere Status
Runtime 141 minutes
Principal Cast Juliane Köhler, Merab Ninidze, Matthias Habich
Award(s)

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Back to Top