Ohrenkuss

Angela, Verena, and Julian have Trisomy 21, the Down syndrome. In their leisure time, they engage themselves as authors in a magazine: 'Ohrenkuss' is not an average magazine which can be bought at newsstands. Only Down syndrome people write for 'Ohrenkuss' and it is unique that in this way they appear in public. And, above all, that they are being noticed not mainly due to their handicaps, but to what they say. For ten years Angela has been working for 'Ohrenkuss'. With self-confidence and ready wit she handles her handicap, yet there is a reflective woman behind that humorous manner. Verena lives with her parents and leads the carefree life of a teen-aged girl. Working in an old people's home, to the ladies she is sort of a substitute for a granddaughter. Julian living in a commune has to manage his life independently. His liberty, however, sometimes reduces him to his limits. The film 'Ohrenkuss' has accompanied the three of them for two years, at home, in daily life, and during their editorial work. It does not present an extensive social portrait of how people with Trisomy 21 live in our world, it rather focuses on the views of the protagonists. It finds out the different facets hidden behind their handicaps and does away with the cliché of the nice, but inexperienced handicapped living just between nurseries and workshops for the disabled.