Paula misses her dog, Anton, a dear companion who was always there for her until he died six months ago, leaving behind a huge gap. It’s a gap which Paula wants to fill, and so she sets off to find a new dog, this time from the animal shelter.

“Chess is in my family’s blood…” This is how Hannah describes her relationship to the silent game. She loves to play chess -  as does her whole family. This year she qualified for the German Chess Championships, her first time and much cause for excitment.

Mekdelawit is twelve and loves figure skating. Her family lives in Germany, although her parents came as refugees from Ethiopia. They share her passion, despite the fact neither of them can ice skate. Mekdelawit trains several times a week in her ice skating club in Cologne and plans to perform a new and difficult move at an upcoming figure skating competition.

Paula is twelve years old and lives in an unusual flat-share in Cologne: two mothers, who are not a couple, with their four children. Paula’s fifteen-year-old sister is planning to spend a year in New Zealand – a prospect which makes Paula feel sad. Paula wants to put on the perfect farewell party before her sister leaves. With the other children in the house, she forms a band to perform a specially composed song. She also wants to fulfil one of her sister’s long-term wishes: to have a real custard-pie fight in the garden. Will she be able to keep her preparations a secret to make the ultimate surprise for her sister?

Hisjona is thirteen years old and comes from Albania. A year ago, she met Rosa, a German 7th grader who was doing voluntary work at the local refugee centre. The two girls became friends and their families now meet up on a regular basis. Hisjona and her parents came to Germany as refugees and are hoping to be able to stay here. Hisjona’s parents want her to attend a proper school and maybe go to university one day. That’s not so easy in Albania. Unfortunately, their asylum application is turned down and the family is not allowed to stay in Germany - a shock for both Hisjona and Rosa. Will their friendship survive?

Megan and Joshi are both victims of cyber-bullying. A docu-comic tells their story, interwoven with classical documentary elements: teenage media scouts at a secondary school is Essen show how they can help prevent cyber-bullying and what to do when people are affected. Experts, including a cyber-psychologist, a lawyer and a social worker, give insight into the issue as well as provide legal tips. The media scouts carrying out an experiment in school which shows the speed at which the anonymity of the internet helps cyber-bullying escalate and the affects it has on victims.

Rose is twelve and attends a secondary school in Cologne. She takes part in a school project to work with kids in a local refugee home, doing their bit to make the lives of the refugees better. In the home, Rosa meets Hisjona, a girl of the same age from Albania. They become friends despite the fact that no one knows how long Hisjona will be able to stay in Germany.

Jessica is fifteen and lives in Cologne. She has eight siblings. Her family lives on the poverty line. We made a film about her four years ago, looking at the problems she faced in everyday life. Many things are even more difficult now. The film moves between the ages and shows what has changed for Jessica. As a teenager, she sees the world differently. She wants to be a part of mainstream society, wear labels and have some money. She has come to realise people without any money are outsiders. She hopes one day to be able to stand on her own two legs.

Twelve year old Florian wants to follow in his elder brother’s footsteps and become the King of the Noble Boys at the Schützenfest in Neuss (a traditional event attended by marksmen’s clubs). The Noble Boys march at the biggest Schützenfest in the world and sell waffles to raise money for a good cause. Florian’s elder brother also trains him at the rowing club. Both his brother and his father are in a traditional all-male marksmen’s club.

Lala is 15 years old. She speaks English because her father’s America and Japanese because her mother comes from Tokyo. She’s now living in Wiesbaden, Germany, together with her parents, her little sister and her Japanese grandma. Lala was born in Hawaii where her father, Jeff, was stationed as a US marine. Lala attends the American High School in Wiesbaden and attends JROTC, military training for young people.

Gabby is 15 years old. Her father is an airplane engineer and commander in the US navy. Ever since Gabby’s birth her family has moved home every two years. If Gabby had a choice, she would like to stay in Germany. She likes living in Wiesbaden. It’s where she feels at home – even if she’s American.

Johnny is 15 years old. He speaks fluent German and English, has an American and German passport, and always carries dollars as well as euros in his wallet. Johnny’s father, Paul, came to Germany as a soldier thirty years ago where he met Johnny’s mother and stayed. Johnny has never lived in America, but he still feels American. He attends the American High School, loves juicy American steaks and bowling, and goes shopping in the Commissary, the US army’s American supermarket.

11 year old Greta loves playing hockey. She wants to win the championship with her team this season and has come up with a special training programme. Sport helps her keep fit, even though Greta often gets out of breath – she suffers from mucoviscidosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs.

Luzie is 11 and will be the youngest ever rider in the BMX world cup in Cologne. A rough and ready hobby for a delicate girl like Luzie. When she started riding BMX four years ago, the boys all laughed at her. But Luzie stuck around until they accepted her. Now she’s part of the team and the boys love having her around.

Dirk Bastert used to be a professional dancer and was world champion in ten different disciplines. Today the 40 year old travels the world teaching. After making a name for himself in Germany, he is now conquering the dance floors of Asia step by step. He spends six months a year teaching in Thailand, Singapore, Brunei und Malaysia.

Jasmine is 15 and lives in San Diego. She loves hiphop dancing and is taking part in a major dance competition at the Del Mar Fair. Jasmine also attends the Rock Church, a mega-church where Sunday service is held by a former NFL-football player in front of thousands of church-goers.

Luzie wants a dog. The next door neighbour’s dog has had puppies, and Luzie and her brother go next door every day to play with them. They would really like to have one for themselves, but their parents are against it. That doesn’t stop Luzie and her little brother from thinking of ways to convince them.

Commercial for the German charity, Welthungerhilfe, as part of their campaign to donate one hour’s worth of work time in the fight against hunger.

Justus is 10 years old and lives with his family on a farm. He loves farming life. There’s always something going on, and the air is better. Together with his sister, Rahel, he manages to talk his parents into giving him a job around the farm to boost his pocket money.

Justus is interested in his father’s job as a farmer and helps him around the farm. He’s around from the sowing period to harvesting, and he hopes that his father will let him drive the combine harvester for the first time this year.

Hannah is 11 and loves rowing, although she’s never actually won a race. That’s her biggest wish. Or not to fall in the water. That’s also her wish, as it’s happened to her often. Her parents support her, but they want Hannah to go to training on her own by public transport. That’s easier said than done, as the training site is on the other side of the city, and Hannah will have to change trains and buses several times. Will she manage it?

Paolo Varetti can look back to a fulfilled life. He’s over 90 and now lives in the Casa Verdi, an old people’s home for former musicians. Lina Vasta came here with her elder husband in her mid-50s. Today she’s over 80 and enjoys life even more than when she was married. She puts on concerts and gives singing lessons.

A big family with no money. Jessica lives with her parents and seven siblings in a three-room apartment in Cologne. They can hardly afford daily life let alone a holiday, a car or the membership of sports club. They never even go on a day trip together, but Jessica has decided to write to the manager of the local zoo to ask him if he could donate them some tickets.

Justin is 15 and is training for his first triathlon in San Diego, California. Together with his dad he wants to take part this year. He’s also a devoted scout and a junior recruit in the US army. Before the triathlon he goes to the Californian mountains to take part in an army camp.

Jasmine is 15 and lives in San Diego. She dances in a hiphop crew and is taking part in a major dance competition at the local Del Mar fair.

Rosa is 15 and the daughter of illegal immigrants from Mexico. She wants to do well in school and be the first in her family to go to college. She also works at a local homeless center. With her local youth group in the deprived area of City Heights, she starts a project to paint a mural and improve the neighborhood’s bad reputation.

Cullen is 15 and lives in the small Missourian town of Hermann, a sleepy backwater originally founded by Germans. There’s so little to do around here that nearly all the kids living here have several hobbies. Cullen is no exception. He plays the trombone, does track & field, acts, and sings in the choir. This year he has a special goal: he wants to pass his driving test. In Missouri the driving age is 15.

Kate goes fishing, hunting, looks after the chickens, and leads a typical rural life in the mid-west. But the 15 year old also has another side to her: she loves music and singing opera.

Lincoln is 14 and son of one of the biggest wine-growers in Hermann, Missouri. He likes helping his father out in the vineyard and is proud of his family roots. He loves German celebrations and making sausages every year with his father and grandfather.