The Air to Breathe

Story

The adaptation for cinema of the eponymous novel by Miriam Maertens about her struggle for a life lived in dignity and self-determination. Miriam Maertens comes from a well-known family of actors in Hamburg. When as a young girl she falls ill with cystic fibrosis, an arduous struggle with the disease begins which she keeps to herself. Despite physical and mental crises, she masters her double life, fulfils her professional desires and falls in love. When Miriam gets pregnant, those around her are shocked: how will she face this challenge? Then her lungs malfunction. A race against time begins to find a suitable donor.

 

 

Presented by

Director

JOPHI RIES (*1959) has been a freelance actor since the 1980s, appearing in cinema and numerous TV films and series. Since 2015, he has also directed films, including Ein Sommer auf Lanzarote and Ein Moment für’s Leben.