Picture Tree Intl. has boarded Berlin Film Festival title “Measures of Men,” which focuses on the genocide committed by the German army against the Ovaherero and Nama tribes in Southwestern Africa. The trailer debuts (below).
The film is written and directed by Lars Kraume, whose credits include Berlin’s “The Silent Revolution” and Toronto’s “The People vs. Fritz Bauer.” It stars Leonard Scheicher (“The Silent Revolution,” “Das Boot” TV series), Namibian actor Girley Charlene Jazama and “Toni Erdmann” star Peter Simonischek.
The film has its world premiere on Feb. 22 in the Berlinale Special section, and will be released in Germany by Studiocanal in late March.
The film begins in Berlin at the end of the 19th century when a delegation of the Ovaherero and Nama tribes travels to the city. Alexander Hoffmann, a student of ethnology, is impressed by the intellect of their translator Kezia Kambazembi, and begins to question the racial theories of white supremacy. He joins an expedition to the tribes’ homeland, and witnesses the massacres of the tribes by the German army.
“Measures of Men” is produced by Thomas Kufus of Zero One Film. It is co-produced by Studiocanal, ZDF/ARTE, Akzente Film- & Fernsehproduktion and WunderWerk.
PTI’s Berlin slate includes John Malkovich vehicle “Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes” by Robert Schwentke, Dominque Deruderre’s “The Chapel,” urban fairy-tale “First Snow of Summer” and black comedy “The Peacock.”