A tribute to friendship – authentic, warm, and funny
Directed by David Dietl, Long Story Short (Feste & Freunde – Ein Hoch auf uns) is based on the 2015 Danish film Lang Historie Kor, and is a film that celebrates the gift of friendship. With a screenplay by Elena Senft, known for the award-winning German Netflix series Kleo, the characters within it are authentic, vulnerable, and realistic.
Centred around the love life of Ellen (Laura Tonke), who is having an affair with Sebastian (Ronald Zehrfeld), it is at a New Year’s Eve party that her best friend Natalie (Jasmin Shakeri) finds out. Natalie, in an attempt to dissuade Ellen, tries to set her up with Max (Henning Flüsloh), who incidentally, becomes my favourite character in the film. Rolf (Nicholas Ofczarek) and Dina (Pegah Ferydoni), in contrast, meet for the first time that same night, and are everything a couple aspires to be.
Along the lines of Four Weddings and a Funeral, each scene is set at a different event, starting with this New Year’s Eve party. The film later includes other special occasions, each announced onscreen – a wedding, a birthday party, and the like – where this close circle of friends, who have become family, reconnect. I enjoyed this structure for its pacing, and as an audience member, it also helped ground me in time (it’s set over a three-year period), making the plot easy to follow. For this reason alone, it suits most audience members, especially if you are seeking a relaxed night out with friends or your partner. It’s the kind of film where you can just switch off, but still laugh (a lot!), cry, and feel.
A secondary but equally emphasised part of the narrative is the focus on the value of friends in keeping the important people in your life close. Although many of the situations and plot points are realistic, I’m not sure if all people in real life communicate that openly and honestly in large groups. Still, the bond between Natalie (played by Jasmin Shakeri) and Ellen is well developed and feels very real. They hold each other to account (which both divides and binds them) so the story is just as much about the love they have for each other in friendship, as it is about Ellen’s romantic life. Shakeri is somewhat the mother hen of the group: loyal and grounding, yet directive and honest. Nevertheless, she also has her own imperfections.
All of the characters are flawed in some way, like Annette Frier as Mareike with her husband Adam (Trystan Pütter), whose bickering throughout the storyline shows them as being very human, each in their own torment – together, but alone. Equally so does the casting of all types of personalities and looks, supported by a talented cast.
Flüsloh as Max floats through his role easily as if he really is that person, as do Shakeri and Ofczarek. Everyone seemed so.. well ordinary. They were dressed ordinarily, and the make-up wasn’t excessive. The cast, the performances, and plot itself made it easy to connect with all the characters and care about their stories.
Long Story Short was the OFFICIAL SELECTION’s Opening Night Film at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024 and featured at the Opening Night Gala in Adelaide, of the 2025 German Film Festival
Long Story Short is currently showing as part of the HSBC German Film Festival at Palace Nova Cinemas.
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