Note: For each individual ticket purchased to the September 30 screening of this film, CIFF will donate $2 to USAY (Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth)

Buschi’s daily routine in an assisted living facility leaves no room for surprises. Seeking change, he seizes the chance to leave a group outing behind and joins a tour of Japanese tourists travelling through Germany. Having lived his entire life without speaking, on this unusual trip, he forms a wordless friendship with Hideo — a man on a journey of his own — creating a bond that goes beyond words and starts an unexpected adventure.

THE FROG AND THE WATER is directed by Thomas Stuber, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gotthart Kuppel and Hyoe Yamamoto, blending German, Japanese and English dialogue to reflect the film's cross-cultural core. Buschi is played by newcomer Aladdin Detlefsen, who won Best Actor at the film's world premiere in Tallinn's Black Nights Film Festival, opposite Kanji Tsuda as Hideo.