Winners

Soleen
Yusef

Born in Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 1987, she fled with her family to Berlin when she was a child. Whilst training in fashion, singing and acting, she worked as an assistant in production, directing and distribution at mîtosfilm. In 2008, she began studying fiction directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her third-year film Trattoria premiered at the 2012 Berlinale. Since making her debut feature film Haus ohne Dach (2016), for which she won awards including the First Steps Award, she has been working on international productions for Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

Filmography
2012 Trattoria 2014 Der NSU-Prozess – Das Protokoll des ersten Jahres; documentary 2015 Der NSU-Prozess – Das Protokoll des zweiten Jahres; documentary 2016 Haus ohne Dach (House Without Roof) 2017 SOKO Leipzig (Leipzig Homicide); episodes 366–367 2018 Meiberger – Im Kopf des Täters (Meiberger: Chasing Minds); episodes 5–8 2019 Skylines; episodes 4–6 2020 Deutschland 89; episodes 1–8 2023 Sam – Ein Sachse (Sam – A Saxon); episodes 1–4 · Sieger sein (Winners)

Beginnings are not always easy. Whether in the shoes of an immigrant in a new country or as a new student among pubescent classmates. Now, it's the turn of the adolescent Mona, who fled with her Kurdish family from their native Syria to Germany, specifically to the Berlin district of Wedding, to a school is full of “foreigners”. There is chaos and tension among teachers and students, yet there is one unifying element - the school football team. Teacher Chepovski brings in the hesitant Mona, who may not yet speak German, but she does speak the language of football. Through it, she recalls memories of Syria, yet she doesn't have it easy. She faces struggles within both her family and the team. In both environments, however, the same rule applies - though we are all individuals, we win as one team. This is a German film about loss, desire, and the courage to pursue one's dream.