Dorfpunks

Seventeen-year-old Malte—or, as he prefers, “Roddy Dangerblood”—has just discovered punk, though it’s taken him almost ten years longer than everybody else to do so. The sleepy Baltic village of Schmalenstedt in 1984 isn’t exactly the most “fight-the-man" kind of place, so when the rebel mindset finally hits Roddy that summer, he becomes determined to do some catching up. He and his friends start a band with the killer name “Warhead”, they get in fights with the local farmer boys, they throw parties and trash houses, and they chase girls like Roddy’s crush Maria. But when conflicts erupt between Warhead’s members and Roddy’s chances with Maria start to look ever slimmer, the young rocker is forced to decide what punk really means to him, and if all this anarchy is worth the trouble. 

Based on the autobiographical novel by German musician Rocko Schamoni, Dorfpunks brings the punk movement to the German countryside for a clever coming-of-age tale set during one unforgettable summer, where cows and fields meet leather and mohawks. 

Streaming as part of Alle gegen Alles: Punk@50. By 1976, the once underground punk movement had exploded across the world, bringing with it a bold new style, an anti-establishment ethos, and a powerful do-it-yourself means of political and personal expression. Fifty years later, this collection of films celebrates punk rebellion in Germany and its enduring role as an antidote to modern conformity. Watch for free through December 31.

Image © Schramm Film