Jonathan
by Piotr J. Lewandowski
Germany 2016, 99 min.
Can a young man on the brink of adulthood accept his family's troubled past?
Jonathan’s responsibilities belie his age, for at 23, his days begin and end with caring for his ailing father, Burghardt, and running the family farm with his aunt, Martha. As time goes by and Burghardt’s condition deteriorates, Martha hires Anka, a nurse who helps take care of him, and with whom Jonathan falls in love. While their relationship flourishes, Burghardt’s emotional distance to his family reveals a devastating secret, one which will come to light with the arrival of Burghardt’s old friend Ron. Having learned the truth, can Jonathan forgive his father?
Awards
Jury Award for First Feature - Frameline 2016
Audience Award - Festival of German Films, Ludwigshafen 2016
Audience Award - Damn These Heels LGBT FF 2016
Best Men‘s Feature - Reel Q Pittsburgh LGBT FF 2016
Audience Award for Men‘s Feature - Out on Film Atlanta LGBT FF 2016
Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature - ImageOut: Rochester LGBT FF 2016
Gold Award in the Features-Cinema Category (Jeremy Rouse) - Australian Cinematographers Society 2016
Special Mention for Originality - Image+Nation FF 2016
OUTtv Audience Award for Best Male Feature - Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam LGBTQ FF 2017
Festivals
World Premiere: Berlinale Panorama 2016
Lichter FF 2016
International Premiere: PKO OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema 2016
North American Premiere: Inside Out Toronto LGBT FF 2016
Emden FF 2016
US Premiere: Frameline 2016
Damn These Heels LGBT FF 2016
Nordic Premiere: Oslo/Fusion IFF 2016
Austin GLIFF 2016
Australian Premiere: Perth Queer FF 2016
Reeling Chicago LGBT IFF 2016
UK Premiere: Raindance FF 2016
Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBT FF 2016
Out on Film Atlanta GLFF 2016
Danish Premiere: MIX Copenhagen FF 2016
KineNova IFF Skopje 2016
Winston-Salem OUT at the Movies International LGBT FF 2016
Reel Q Pittsburgh LGBT FF 2016
Fort Lauderdale LGBT FF 2016
Southwest GLFF New Mexico 2016
ImageOut Rochester GLFF 2016
Polish FF Los Angeles 2016
Belgian Premiere: Gent FF 2016
Asian Premiere: QCinema IFF 2016
Regiofun FF 2016
Korean Premiere: Seoul Pride FF 2016
German Films Week, Poland 2016
GFEST - Gaywise FESTival London 2016
Latin American Premiere: Mix Brasil FF 2016
Holebi FF 2016
Spanish Premiere: AndaLesGai FF 2016
Italian Premiere: Rome Independent FF 2016
Cinergia FF 2016
Des Images aux Mots FF 2017
Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam LGBTQ FF 2017
Mardi Gras IFF 2017
Guadalajara IFF 2017
Aubagne IFF 2017
Cinhomo FF 2017
Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic FF 2017
In&Out Nice LGBT FF 2017
Hull Pride 2017
Orlando Festival 2017
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer FF 2017
Mix México 2017
FIRE!! Barcelona LGBT IFF 2017
Shanghai Pride FF 2017
Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam 2017
GoetheFEST (RS) 2017
Cape Town International Film Market & Festival 2017
Ulan Bator Queer FF 2018
Cast & Crew
Jannis Niewöhner, Julia Koschitz, André M. Hennicke, Thomas Sarbacher, Barbara Auer
Production: Kordes & Kordes Films
Piotr J. Lewandowski
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Piotr J. Lewandowski has spent the majority of his adult life abroad, regularly returning to visit his home and family. He attended colleges in Warsaw, Paris, and London. In 1999, he settled in Germany where he studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung (University of Art and Design) in Offenbach near Frankfurt am Main. In 2002, he transferred to the Filmakademie in Baden-‐Württemberg, the renowned international film school, where he graduated in 2007.
Since 1996, he has been occupied with painting and art, while also making experimental animated and other short films. After receiving awards for his short films "Heavy Pregnant" and "Papa," he co-directed a feature length film with Carsten Strauch, entitled "Die Aufschneider" ("Butchers"). In 2006 he made a short film "Janek" (“Johnny”) with Polish actors Danuta Stenka, Zbigniew Zamachowski and Borys Szyc. After gathering many awards in Germany, “Janek” received a director’s nomination for Best Story and awards for Best Actors (Danuta Stenka and Paul Merkle) at the ”Grand OFF -‐ World Independent Film Awards” Film Festival in Warsaw in 2009. His next film, the roughly thirty minute long "Fliegen" ("Flies"), was part of the official program of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.
In 2011-‐2012, Mr. Lewandowski, again with Carsten Strauch, made a TV-‐series "Götter wie wir" (“God R Us”), which garnered the German TV-‐award for the best TV-‐series. In 2013, Mr. Lewandowski received a Hessen Film and Cinema Screenplay Award for "Jonathan." In 2014, a nomination for Thomas Strittmatter Award followed, as well as an Emder Screenplay Award at the International Film Festival Emden-‐Norderney, Lower Saxony, Germany, granted by Grimme Preis Jury.
“Jonathan" celebrated its World Premiere at the 2016 Berlinale in the Panorama section.