Zečji nasip / Sandbag Dam / Mauern aus Sand

Marco leads an unremarkable teenage life in a Croatian village. He has a girlfriend, arm wrestles with his father, and is devoted to his brother, who has Down syndrome. When a flood threatens, the villagers must stack sandbags. As Marco and the others wage a hopeless battle against the water, Marco also seems to be damming up something within himself. He feels caught, like the rabbits that his family keeps in small cages. The neighbour’s son Slaven arrives from Berlin for his father’s funeral, and it soon becomes clear that there’s something between the two boys. Something that does not fit in with their world, where men only touch each other to prove their strength. This coming-of-age drama, with its subtle tension and intimate hand-held camera, stays close to Slaven and, especially, Marco. He feels his way forward, struggling with his feelings, and begins to stand up to the growing pressure from his parents and the village. Will he be able to free himself from the prison of heteronormative models of masculinity?