Description
Instinct #20 | Prince in Hell (Prinz in Hölleland)
Instinct #20: Radical Empathy
Prince in Hell (Prinz in Hölleland)
Director: Michael Stock
1993 – 90 min
In German with English subtitles
As part of Instinct #20: Radical Empathy, we present Prinz in Hölleland—a film that refuses distance: it looks directly at dependence, intimacy, and collapse, and asks what it means to witness without judgment. Included in the Berlinale 2026 retrospective “Lost in the 90s,” the film will be followed by a Q&A with director Michael Stock.
Synopsis:
The story is set soon after the reunification of West and East Germany, and is about the disintegrating relationship between Jockel a political activist and Stefan a heroin junkie, and their involvement with a bisexual Micha. A 2nd plot line is concerned with Micha’s young son Sascha, and his life in a rundown world of drugs and poverty. His fascination with the creepy, exhibitionist puppeteer Firlefanz, whose grotesque puppets enact a gay fairy tale paralleling the relationship of Stefan and Jockel. Central to the disintegration of these characters is the drug dealer Ingolf, who ‘pulls their strings’ with heroin, instead of puppet wires.
