Adam + Adrian will be the new film by Yair Hochner, director of GOOD BOYS and ANTARCTICA, and producer Jürgen Brüning. The film tells the love story between young gay Israeli and a German man set in today’s Berlin nightlife.

Adam Samuels as Adam - Photo by Omer Gaash

The inspiration for the film:

2006 was my first visit to Berlin as a guest of producer Jürgen Brüning (THE RASPBERRY
REICH, OTTO; OR, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE), to give a lecture on pornography within the
history of Israeli cinema. I never thought I would visit Berlin. My father was born in 1948 in a refugee camp in Germany. His parents decided to come to Israel after nearly all of their relatives were murdered during WW II. I grew up in a type of museum: grandparents who never stopped talking about the past, parents who suffered from psychological problems due to their parents, and the Israeli media that never stops digging into the past. That’s why I wasn’t in any rush to buy my first ticket to Berlin.

Jürgen Brüning also first visited Israel in 2006, when he attended the first International
LGBT film festival in Tel-Aviv, which I founded. He told me that before his first time in Tel
Aviv he was anxious that Israelis would attack him when they realized that he is German. To his surprise he discovered that the opposite was true. Israelis were always warm and loving towards him. Ever since he has visited Israel every June as a guest of the Festival. A strong friendship grew between us and between the festivals we represent. I found myself returning to Berlin every October for the Porn Film Festival, as well as the Berlinale, where I served as one of the judges of the Teddy Awards. I also screened the film “Fucking Different Tel Aviv”, which I was an associate producer on. I also went to Berlin as a guest of the Maneo organization. Since 2006 I have visited Berlin more than 20 times, it became my second home, just as my German friends became my second family.

Adam Samuels as Adam - Photo by Omer Gaash

What is the inspiration to make a Romantic Drama about two young boys falling in love?

The plot of ADAM + ADRIAN emerged from my strong will to tell a simple love story
between two men. 
Adam is a young Israeli in his early 20s, who goes to Berlin to meet his sister, who is
working there as a performance artist at queer parties.
Adrian is a young German man in his late 20ties, who is looking for love in the big city, after his boyfriend cheated on him and their subsequent break-up.
Their first encounter starts off like a standard one night stand, yet unexpectedly turns into much more. Instead of just another hot fuck they find themselves speaking for hours, laughing together, realizing their feelings towards each other only grow stronger and more intimate. Their connection is born of something spontaneous, far greater than random uncontrollable horniness. Some might call this love. They decide to spend Adam’s final week in Berlin together. During this week, they do whatever two young gay men would do who have just met and are falling in love for each other: get to know one another through intimate conversations, go to parties, and have sex.
At first glance this may seem like any other love story, but it has a broader significance.
Very few movies have been made, which portray simple love stories between men and are both romantic and realistic. The few that do exist show almost no sex, let alone explicit sex.

Liad Hussein Kantorowicz as Adam's Sister - photo by LUCA DONNINI

ADAM + ADRIAN celebrate falling in love with each other; their sexuality; their
lovemaking, all in a credible and realistic way, inspired by films such as SHORTBUS and I
WANT YOUR LOVE. The screenplay for the movie is trying to capture that “click” that the
two characters experience in Richard Linklater’s two charming films, BEFORE SUNRISE
and BEFORE SUNSET. Due to the character’s national identity in the script, consequently
the film deals with history and politics. I believe there is a special connection between gay men from Tel Aviv and Berlin, a bond that proves that the present is stronger than the past, that love is stronger than hate.
And that our future depends on this special bond, which unites young Germans and Israelis.

Toby Ashraf as Adrian's ex

Why crowdfunding?

Difficult as it is to believe, Queer Israeli Cinema is not often funded by local Israeli sources, when the film’s target audiences are LGBT. All my films: “Good Boys”, “Antarctica” and “Fucking Different Tel Aviv” received support only after completion. Further, despite the success of my previous films the local Film Funds rejected my submission. In this case, I had only applied for a minimal amount of 17,000 $, as the rest of the budget was raised by selling the rights based on the script to TLA Releasing, USA and GMfilms, Germany.

I hope you will agree to support my 3rd feature film as writer/director. I am excited for this cinematic adventure that I am about to embark upon, the moment we have the entire budget needed for production. I can’t wait to begin rehearsals and to begin to shoot the film.

Your help would enable us to bring the film soon to a theater near you, in the year 2014!
WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR WANTING BEING A PART OF ADAM + ADRIAN’S
LOVE STORY.

Yair Hochner - writer/director, co-producer