Im Prinzip Familie. Documentary by Daniel Abma Germany 2024, 91 min

A film about the superpower it takes to raise a child—and about family in all its forms. We are showing this film as part of our themed days on 'Care or Chaos?' because both coexist in such a moving way in this sensitive and emotionally gripping documentary.

In a house by the shore of an idyllic lake, surrounded by dense forests, three caregivers work in shifts in a residential group home. The children call them Mr. Wagner, Mrs. Wagner, and Mr. Gerecke. Their daily routine includes cooking, laundry, shopping, and driving the children to school and after-school activities in a minivan—just as much as listening, comforting, cuddling on the couch, movie nights, and reading bedtime stories.
They do not see themselves as substitute parents, and yet they try to show what a sense of family can feel like.


All five children living in the group home share one main wish: to return to their families one day. The caregivers work tirelessly to help make that happen—coordinating with guardians, biological parents, and the youth welfare office, documenting, organizing, setting goals together, and making agreements. But more often than not, those agreements are broken—leaving the caregivers disheartened.
It feels like fighting windmills—within the limits of an overburdened system.


Where once there was a village, today there is a complex child welfare apparatus. Since the pandemic, the profession has officially been considered systemically relevant—yet the dedicated and often emotionally demanding work of these professionals remains largely invisible.

Im Prinzip Familie offers a year-long, intimate look into the world of child and youth welfare, focusing on the people in the background—those who work every day to give children what they need most: a sense of security and someone who is truly on their side.


Director: Daniel Abma
Production: Bandenfilm
Co-production: Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
in cooperation with ARTE


Funded by:

The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and
Media (BKM)
German Film Fund (DFFF)
German Federal Film Board (FFA)
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB)

Distribution: Camino Filmverleih
Premiere: DOK Leipzig, October 29, 2024


- German with English subtitles
- Location: Videopanorama
- Price: EUR 5.00 / reduced EUR 2.50
- Ages 0 and up