In Leipzig, the filming of the tragicomedy "The great collapse" has begun. Director and screenwriter Tilman König is directing a new film project that is being realised with the support of the FOKUS funding programme from MDM and MDR. The prominent cast includes Thorsten Merten, Carla von Bodelschwingh, Martina Krompholz and Hanna Schygulla.

At the centre of the story is André, a bon vivant and so-called loser of the reunification who keeps his head above water with odd jobs. When his teenage daughter moves in with him for three weeks, two worlds collide. Only a bizarre encounter with a group of conspiracy theorists changes the dynamic between the two - and the predicted end of the world becomes an opportunity for a new beginning.

The film will be shot exclusively in Leipzig over a total of 33 days until the beginning of September. The project is being produced by the production companies 2Könige Film and Neue Bioskop Film Leipzig in co-operation with MDR. 2Könige Film is part of this year's MEDIAstart funding programme, a start-up initiative of the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM).

The FOKUS funding programme, which was launched in 2024, aims to bring original regional stories to life on film. It is aimed at up-and-coming talent and production companies from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and provides up to one million euros in funding each year - half financed by MDM and half by MDR.

The cinema release of "The great collapse" is planned for 2026. The film will be distributed by Weltkino.