A Fading Man
Welf Reinhart
Out of the blue, Hanne’s ex-husband Kurt turns up at her door. Due to his dementia, he has forgotten that he and Hanne have been divorced for 20 years. When she and her husband Bernd take him in temporarily, their settled life is thrown into turmoil: a new tension enters their marriage, a light-heartedness they thought was lost returns, but so do jealousy and the question of whether this love triangle is sustainable.
A Fading Man tells a poignant love triangle story about forgetting and remembering. With a keen sense of nuance, the film captures both the tragic and the comic moments of growing old – carried by the strong performances of Dagmar Manzel, Harald Krassnitzer and August Zirner, who shine in their roles as Hanne, Kurt and Bernd, striking a balance between seriousness and subtle humour.
2 May 2026
15:00 h, Esplanade im Festivalzentrum
More information
| Direction | Welf Reinhart |
| Country | Germany |
| Production year | 2026 |
| Duration | 102 min |
| Language | German |
| Language Version | original version |
| Genre | Drama |
| Production | Philipp Maron, Tristan Bähre, Louis Merki |
| Production company | Maverick Film |
| Distribution | Filmwelt Verleihagentur |
| Cast | Dagmar Manzel, Harald Krassnitzer, August Zirner |
| Director of Photography | Micky Graeter |
| Script | Tünde Sautier, Welf Reinhart |
| Montage | Ulrike Tortora, Welf Reinhart |
| Music | Pablo Jókay |
| Sound Design | Stefan Möhl |
About the director
Welf Reinhart first studied in Kassel and later fiction film directing at the University of Television and Film in Munich. His short film Eigenheim was screened at numerous Oscar-qualifying festivals and, among other awards, won the Student Oscar in Los Angeles in 2022. A Fading Man is his first feature-length film. It celebrates its premiere in the competition section in Rotterdam.
Press reviews
“A Fading Man masterfully moves along this narrow line between tragedy and humor, bitter reality and absurdity, pathos and sobriety. [...] Nevertheless, the direction has a distinctive signature; for a debut film it shows remarkable maturity, intensity, and clarity — right down to the score by Pablo Jókay, which simultaneously pays tribute to Georges Delerue and Rio Reiser.” (Corinna Götz, THE SPOT media & film)
GERMAN FESTIVAL PREMIERE
Q&A with the director
Future German Cinema
