Description
Before winning the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2026, Ilker Çatak directed this early short at Hamburg Media School: A young pickpocket falls for the one person he shouldn’t have stolen from.
Thomas is a pickpocket and he is good at what he does. When he meets Violca, things become less important. Unfortunately he has stolen from her as well...
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Ilker Çatak is a German-Turkish filmmaker known for his psychologically intense dramas that explore moral dilemmas and social dynamics. Born in 1984 in Berlin, he spent part of his childhood in Turkey before returning to Germany. From 2012 to 2014, he completed his Master’s degree in Film Directing at the Hamburg Media School.
Çatak first drew international attention with his shorts and gained wider recognition with his feature The Teachers’ Lounge (Das Lehrerzimmer, 2023), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. His latest film, Yellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe, 2026), premiered in competition at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear
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#shortfilm #studentfilm #IlkerÇatak #berlinale2026 #love #drama #social
#blackandwhite #alteschule
CAST & CREW
Original title - Alte Schule
Director - Ilker Çatak
Writer - Georg Lippert
Production - Hamburg Media School
Cinematography - Daria Pilz
Editing - Steffen Rei
Sound - Jan Ruschke
Music - Marvin Miller
Cast - Johannes Klausner, Monika Wegener, Arwed Fleischer, Georg Lippert
Year - 2013