Heretic has acquired Kai Stänicke‘s “Trial of Hein,” the opening film of Berlin Film Festival’s Perspectives, the competitive section for fiction feature debuts. The German distributor is DCM.

The film follows Hein, who returns to his home village on a remote island after 14 years away, only to discover that the close-knit community no longer recognizes him. Suspecting him to be an imposter, they demand a trial to determine his true identity.

Stänicke, who is also the film’s screenwriter, writes about the film: “ ‘Trial of Hein’ is an intimate exploration of identity and belonging. Who hasn’t looked back at an earlier version of themselves and been surprised by how much has changed? Going back home forces us to confront the person we used to be. At its core, the film captures that fragile moment when you stop pretending to be who you once were, even if doing so turns you into a stranger to those who thought they knew you.”