The exceptional photographer Andreas Reiner is accompanied in his work. His photographs are often provocative, but also bear witness to a fierce lust for life. Shots of his private life on a farm complete this hymn to human existence.

The term “shadow children” is largely unknown in our society. It is about children who live with a terminally ill sibling. The entire attention of the parents is directed to the sick child. The healthy children are in the “shadow”, they take on tasks for which they are still far too young, they fill the family gaps that open up due to the overwhelm of the parents. Often enough, it seems like it is the days in the hospice the healthy children long for since here they are relieved of all burdens for a few hours.

This family drama deals with a case of Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy, a fabricated illness. Stephanie is an apparently happy single mother of two daughters, Therese and Agnes, although the latter suffers from chronic health problems. When Stephanie's sister Christiane visits them, Agnes collapses during a theater play at their school and later dies in a hospital. Due to Stephanie's odd behavior, Christiane tries to find out the truth about the death of her niece...

Ombline, a 20-year-old woman, is sent to prison for three years after committing a violent assault on a police officer. Just when she has lost all hope for the future, she discovers that she is pregnant. The law allows her to rear her newborn for the first 18 months of its life, after which time the child must be given up and placed into state care. Ombline has no intention of surrendering her beloved little boy and is prepared to do anything to convince the authorities that she is capable of rearing the child after she has left prison. As her maternal instincts assert themselves, the young woman finds she has a cause worth fighting for, and an opportunity to rebuild her shattered life…