PHANTOMS OF JULY
[SEHNSUCHT IN SANGERHAUSEN]
An ethereal, intoxicating comedy, Julian Radlmaier’s fifth feature is as light as a summer breeze, but its simple pleasures hide profound truths about the ghosts of the past and the mysteries of the present. In the sleepy East German village of Sangerhausen, Ursula (Clara Schwinning) toils away at a café, selling tourists their famous rose cake. But she cannot help but yearn for something more: a connection, a spark, a sweet summer cherry. When she meets a group of sophisticated musicians from Berlin, it seems like she might have finally found that je ne sais quoi she has been searching for. Neda (Maral Keshavarz) is an Iranian YouTuber trying to gain fame with off-the-beaten-path travel tips. She meets Korean tour guide Sung-nam (Kyung-Taek Lie), who promises to show her around, but she cannot help but sense the specters of those she left behind in Iran. As these characters’ paths converge, place, memory and history collide, linking these lost souls in a surreal ghost hunt. With warm, sumptuous visuals shot on Super 16mm by cinematographer Faraz Fesharaki (WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY?, AFI FEST 2021), Radlmaier’s film offers a resolute but gentle rejection of Germany’s right-leaning political climate, finding resonant affinities between outsiders, immigrants and laborers. –Josh Gardner
Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST, Locarno and Busan film festivals. DIR/SCR Julian Radlmaier; PROD Kirill Krasovski. Germany, 2025, color, 90 min. In German and Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Run Time: 90 Minutes
Opening Date: Sunday, December 07, 2025
Genre: Comedy, drama
