Jan Ole Gerster's wry and vibrant feature debut OH BOY, which swept the 2013 German Film Awards, paints a day in the life of Niko, a twenty-something college dropout going nowhere fast.

 

Niko lives for the moment as he drifts through the streets of Berlin, curiously observing everyone around him and oblivious to his growing status as an outsider. Then on one fateful day, through a series of absurdly amusing encounters, everything changes: his girlfriend rebuffs him, his father cuts off his allowance, and a strange psychiatrist dubiously confirms his 'emotional imbalance'. Meanwhile, a former classmate insists she bears no hard feelings toward him for his grade-school taunts when she was "Roly Poly Julia," but it becomes increasingly apparent that she has unfinished business with him. Unable to ignore the consequences of his passivity any longer, Niko finally concludes that he has to engage with life.

 

Shot in timeless black and white and enriched with a snappy jazz soundtrack, this slacker dramedy is a love letter to Berlin and the Generation Y experience.

In Person: Director Jan-Ole Gerster

Watch the trailer…

 

OH BOY got four nominations @ European Film Awards: Best Film, Best Actor, European Discovery and Peoples Choice. Support Jan-Ole by voting here for him and the Peoples Choice Award!

 

Jan-Ole Gerster was born in Hagen. He studied script writing and directing at the Berlin Film and Television Academy (DFFB). In 2010 Gerster started work on his graduation film OH BOY with Tom Schilling in the lead role. The movie premiered at the 2012 Munich Filmfestival. OH BOY garnered international acclaim and won the 2013 German Film Prize in six categories, among them for Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Film.