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Director's Statement
While shooting a documentary about a home for dispossessed women, I heard the unofficial term “system crasher” for the first time, because the youngest resident was just 14 years old. There were no children’s homes left willing to take the girl in. I couldn’t get that term out of my head, so I started an intense research. During this period I met an 11-year-old boy who had been in 52 different institutions. “System crashers” are children with incredible strength and endurance, but still tragic figures. At a very early age they put all their opportunities of becoming integrated into our society at risk. How much energy does it take to drive so many trained child care workers to despair? What if it were possible to re-channel this energy and use it for positive purposes? My motivation for making this film was to sensitise people to children like Benni. That’s why the film is being told primarily from Benni’s point of view. As spectators we develop a feeling for the confusing number of “homes”, the changing guardians and the constant and dizzying disruption of relationships. At the same time, Benni draws us into the wild, uncertain, fantasy-filled world of a child fighting for her own sense of being. I wanted the film to bubble with energy and, despite the tragic nature of the topic, to be humorous and light-hearted. Just like Benni is. Although we may be upset – even shocked – by Benni’s violent behaviour, we should learn to love her and to fear for her during the course of the film. Ever since I met my first “system crasher”, I’ve known that I had to tell a story about one. Children’s violence is a cry for help. Always.