Berlin Alexanderplatz

Francis, a 30-year-old refugee, is the sole survivor of a boat that crossed the Mediterranean illegally from West Africa. When he wakes up on a beach in the south of Europe, he is determined to live a regular, decent life, but he winds up in present-day Berlin where a stateless person without a work permit is treated just as mercilessly. He initially resists an offer to deal drugs in Hasenheide Park, but then comes under the influence of Reinhold, his neurotic, sex-addicted pal, a drug dealer and human trafficker--born to destroy the people around him--who takes him in. When he meets club owner Eva and, after several dramatic experiences, escort girl Mieze, he feels he's found something for the first time, something he's never known before: a little bit of happiness. —Berlinale