'23 000 LIVES' Celebrates Its World Premiere at the Munich Film Festival

Director: Markus Goller Screenplay: Oliver Ziegenbalg (in collaboration with Michele Cinque) Producers: Christopher Zwickler (Neue Flimmer), Oliver Ziegenbalg and Markus Goller (Sunnysideup Film) Creative Producer: Michele Cinque (Lazy Film) Director of Photography: Frankie DeMarco Production Design: Christian Goldbeck Makeup: Skadi Lesske, Astrid Weber Costume Design: Mika Braun Music: Volker Bertelmann Production: Neue Flimmer GmbH + Sunnysideup Film GmbH in collaboration with Lazy Film Cast: Louis Hofmann, Mala Emde, Katharina Stark, Frederick Lau, Maria Dragus, Trevor Magaya, Kathy Etoa, Felice, Saibon Wang, Joone Dankou, Merlin von Garnier, Luisa-Céline Gaffron, Omid Memar; guest appearances from: Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Franka Potente, Katja Riemann, Frank Plasberg, Herbert Knaup and Eleonora Romandini.

Berlin,  May 21, 2026: What impact can a single person have? In a world full of crises, many feel powerless, convinced that individual actions can't change anything.

The movie 23 000 Lives, available worldwide starting on July 17 exclusively on Netflix, shows that it is possible. 23 000 Lives tells the true story of a group of young people who wanted to change things. Under the name Youth to the Rescue (Jugend rettet), they collected money, bought an old ship and saved the lives of 23 000 people in the Mediterranean Sea—23 000 reasons why a little courage and humanity can change everything.

World premiere at the Munich Film Festival

The world premiere of the movie 23 000 Lives will take place at this year's Munich Film Festival (6/26–7/5) in the Spotlight section. Information about the exact festival dates and interview opportunities will follow.

23000 Lives from director Markus Goller and screenwriter Oliver Ziegenbalg in collaboration with Michele Cinque features a top-class cast: Louis Hofmann, Mala Emde, Katharina Stark, Frederick Lau, Maria Dragus, Trevor Magaya, Kathy Etoa, Felice, Saibon Wang, Joone Dankou, Merlin von Garnier, Luisa-Céline Gaffron and Omid Memar. Guest roles include Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Franka Potente, Katja Riemann, Frank Plasberg, Herbert Knaup and Eleonora Romandini.

About Inspired by the true story of the group Youth to the Rescue (Jugend Rettet), 23 000 Lives focuses on a group of young people who no longer want to sit back and watch as countless people die in the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe. Without any sea rescue experience, they start a crowdfunding campaign, buy an old ship and use it to save the lives of over 23,000 people. But what started as a shared mission driven by hope and decisiveness soon tests their understanding of what is right and fair.

23 000 Lives is a production from Neue Flimmer GmbH (Christopher Zwickler) and Sunnysideup Film GmbH (Oliver Ziegenbalg and Markus Goller) in collaboration with Lazy Film. The production design and music are provided by Oscar winners Christian Goldbeck and Volker Bertelmann, with Frankie DeMarco as director of photography.

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