Winners

Sieger Sein

After arriving with her Kurdish family in Berlin, Mona is struggling to find her footing. Her hair is wrong, her accent’s wrong, and she misses home. Home is Syria, or at least it was before she was forced to flee. They’re safe now, but busy Berlin offers a different kind of chaos. Kids challenge teachers, mean girls pick fights, and Mona barely knows any German. What she does know is soccer, even if she vowed never to play after leaving her Syrian team and her cherished aunt Helin. Things don’t get any better when her new teacher and coach convinces her to join the team. Mona and her mates know that teamwork doesn’t come easy, but there’s only one way to win. Winners, a coming-of-age story with a fresh, 2025 perspective, comes to NYICFF after a world premiere at Berlinale and taking home the German Film Award for Best Children’s Film.

Note: As mean girls are wont to do, they use some harsh language in this film.