UPSIDEDOWN

Fiction

More than anything, 10-year-old Sascha likes to go on bike rides with the neighbour girl Elli and collect sounds. He also has a passion for fixing up his bike in his improvised workshop. What he doesn’t like is the new special school he has been sent to in order to learn how to read and write. One day Sascha is caught stealing and his mother decides to seek help at the youth welfare office. The social worker Frank is assigned to help the boy for one year, at school and in his daily life. Although Sascha first rejects Frank, sometimes it can be practical to have a personal “bodyguard” at your side. Frank convinces Sascha and his mother to have a few medical tests done. The diagnosis: ADD, an attention deficiency disorder. Sascha is prescribed pills to help him concentrate. While his school performance improves and he gets into less trouble with grown-ups, his character also changes and his friendship to Elli starts to fall apart.