Documentary film about settling in Germany

Germany 2007  I  45 Minutes  I  Idea, Photography, Schnitt: Ulrike Korbach

Noela is supposed to go to Germany to join her father Cho Lucas Ayaba, a political activist who has found asylum in Germany. Her mother Pascaline has died. No one in Cameroon can take cate of her properly any more. A long-cherished wish comes true. But are Germany and her father everything she dreamed of? How does the role of a father fit into life as a political activist? Cho hardly knows his daughter, as he has been in exile in Germany for seven years.

Noela tries to find her feet in the new world. She finds it strange that the teachers don't beat her at school and is irritated when her father takes her to a demonstration. In Cameroon she always ran away as soon as she saw groups marching or a demonstration.

The film follows Noela during her first year in Germany. She has to find her own way between her desire to fit in with her peers and the strict demands of her father, who fights to ensure that the small family can retain its pride.

 "Rat Race" is the portrait of a father-daughter relationship between cultures. Before the shootings the filmmaker had already accompanied Cho Lukas Ayaba's political activities in the documentary "You must fight".  The relationship of trust that developed was the basis for the creation of "Rat Race".