Director's Works
If I Could Fly Alexander Kühn
Alex Kühn gained his first experience in the film industry during his classical piano studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. His passion for music led him into advertising, where he directed a concert recording of a benefit performance by Die Toten Hosen at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, titled “Willkommen in Deutschland.” He then pursued a directing degree at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Focusing on character-driven storytelling, he created the film "Josh and Jacob," which received recognition at international festivals. In July 2022, he was awarded the Young Director Award in Cannes and the New Talent Award at the German Advertising Film Awards. He later directed “Pokerface,” a film about teenagers with alcoholic parents, which garnered several awards and was used by the charity NACOA. Alex continues to play and teach piano to maintain balance in his work as a director and volunteers by teaching piano in refugee shelters in Ludwigsburg.
„If I could fly ” deals with the traumas experienced by children as a result of war or fleeing from war. The heroine, Lika (10), who had to flee from Kyiv to Berlin at the start of the war with her little sister Daria (4) and their mother Maria (35), processes her experiences through dreams in which she can fly. Flying symbolizes her fears and represents the desire to escape the dangers she faces—the fear of bombs, the fear of dying, the fear of losing her family, and the longing for her father, who had to stay behind. At night, in the refugee shelter, she tells her little sister about the dreams, presenting them as exciting adventures to appear strong in front of her.
When her little sister, who actually believes Lika can fly, asks why she doesn’t fly to their father and bring him home, Lika makes this naive yet telling wish of her little sister come true—at least in her dream.
The film portrays the war through the eyes of children, without judgment or blame. It simply
presents a child's perspective: What would be the simplest solution for a 4-year-old? She doesn't understand politics or history; unlike the adults, she can't change anything, she can't protest, she just wants her dad to come home.
