Healing Hearts 

SNYOPSIS 

A 17-year-old girl lives with her single, exhausted mother, who is never at home. The girl repeatedly wishes her father, whom she does not know, was by her side and has daydreams about how she lives with her ideal father. Her mother used to be a lively woman who left nothing to chance and enjoyed life. But as a result of many personal injuries, drugs and alcohol, she has become disillusioned with life and has become hard, cold and unfeeling inside. She does not understand her daughter's depression and finds the daydreams about the father difficult to bear, which is why they often argue and the mother takes every opportunity to tell her daughter that she just has to pull herself together and stop being so emotional. Then everything would be fine. The girl develops suicidal thoughts and often stays in the attic, where she also fantasizes about killing herself. 

When a 20-year-old boy flees from the police over the roofs of the city and wants to hide from them in the attic, he finds the girl and pulls her out of her deep depression. Of course, the girl falls in love with the boy, but she has severe mental disorders and suffers psychotic seizures when the boy doesn't always have time for her. A difficult love story develops with lots of action and love, but also with violence and sadness about the impossibility of their relationship. Daughter of a single mother, a boy with an immigrant background, a love story under the influence of mental disorder, depression, loyalty, impossibility and, despite everything, solidarity. In the end, they separate again, even though it is extremely painful for both of them, but each must go his own way and live his life. 

After 25 years, the girl happens to come across an article on the internet about the boy from back then and writes to him. He replies and they arrange to meet.

Main characters:

• Alina (17 years old): An introverted, melancholic girl abandoned by her father. Alina longs for the love and security of an ideal father, whom she imagines in daydreams. She suffers from depression and feels lonely, especially since her mother is emotionally cold and distant. The attic of her house is a place of retreat for Alina, where she contemplates suicide and confronts her inner darkness.

Nadine (38 years old, Alina's mother): Once a vivacious woman who enjoyed life to the full, Nadine has become hard inside as a result of her experiences with drugs and countless disappointments in life. She does not understand her daughter's depression and reacts to Alina's daydreams with rejection and frustration. Life is hard for Nadine, and she has come to terms with the fact that you can't listen to your feelings.

Luca (20 years old): a young man with an immigrant background, marked by the rough city life. While fleeing from the police, he stumbles into Alina's life by chance. Luca carries a lot of pain within himself, but he is determined to help Alina, even if he is not always strong enough to free himself from his own situation. He lives on the fringes of society, is charming and skilled, but inwardly marked by the harshness of life.

 

Draft of the plot:

Act 1: The Prodigal Daughter

Alina lives in a silent world full of loneliness and longing. Her mother Nadine is either never at home or emotionally unavailable. Nadine used to be full of life and dreams, but drugs and failed relationships have destroyed her internally. Alina dreams of a father she has never met. In her daydreams, he is the perfect protector, a man who loves and understands her and gives her all the security she lacks in the real world.

But the reality is cruel: her mother reacts coldly to Alina's fantasies and often reprimands her. “Stop dreaming of a man you've never met,” says Nadine. “Life is hard, and it won't get any better just because you lose yourself in your fantasies.”

Central scene: Alina tries to open up to her mother and tell her about her dark thoughts, but Nadine blocks and demands that Alina “gets a grip”. The relationship between the two breaks down further when Alina realizes that she can't expect anything emotionally from her mother. She withdraws into the attic, where she increasingly has dark thoughts about suicide.

Act 2: The Encounter

One evening, as Alina sits in the attic seriously considering taking her own life, Luca breaks into her life through a window. He is on the run from the police, who are looking for him in connection with a crime he may have committed. Alina is frightened, but Luca is just as surprised to find her there – a young girl who seems to be in utter despair.

Luca immediately recognizes that Alina is in a dangerous situation. Without hesitation, he approaches her and starts talking to her about life. His own scars and the hardships of his life make him empathetic, and he senses her pain. Slowly, Alina opens up to him, fascinated by this mysterious stranger who changes her life in an instant.

Central scene: Luca takes Alina by the hand and encourages her. “You think your life is over, but it has just begun,” he says. Alina, who feels understood for the first time, senses that in Luca she has found someone who will not judge or reject her.

Act 3: Love and dependence

Alina and Luca develop an intense relationship that is quickly permeated by romantic feelings. For Alina, Luca is the hero who rescues her from her depression. She falls in love with him and sees in him not only a savior but the embodiment of her dream of a father figure – strong, protective, wise.

But Luca can't always be with her. His own life is chaotic and dangerous; he lives on the fringes of society and is constantly on the run. These absences send Alina into deep crises. She develops severe psychotic seizures when Luca is not with her. Her dependence on him grows ever stronger, and each time he leaves, she loses herself in fear and anger.

Central scene: Alina waits desperately for Luca and panics when he doesn't show up. She screams, destroys her room and falls into a psychotic fit, convinced that she can't live without him. When Luca finally shows up, he calms her down, but he senses that their relationship is becoming too dangerous.

Act 4: The Inevitable Break

Alina and Luca's relationship becomes increasingly toxic. Luca loves Alina, but he realizes that he can't save her. Alina, on the other hand, can't live without him and sees him as her only anchor in an otherwise bleak world. Her mental health issues worsen, and the relationship becomes increasingly characterized by violence and desperate emotions.

In a dramatic moment, Luca gets into a serious confrontation with the police and has to leave the city. He knows he can't take Alina with him, and Alina finally understands that their love is destructive – for both of them.

Central scene: Luca says goodbye to Alina on one of the city's rooftops. It is an emotional farewell, full of tears and unspoken words. Both know that they have to separate, even if it tears them apart inside. “Maybe everything could have been different,” says Luca quietly before disappearing.

Act 5: Years later

25 years later: Alina has since become an adult woman who has learned to deal with her life. She has undergone therapy and tried to get a grip on her mental health issues. One day, while browsing the internet, she comes across an article about Luca. He has managed to get his life together and now leads a calmer life. Alina, overwhelmed by memories, writes him a message.

To her surprise, Luca answers. His message echoes with the same melancholy that once connected them, but also with a new maturity. They arrange to meet to see each other again after all these years.

Final scene: Alina and Luca meet in a small café. Both have changed, but there is still a hint of the deep connection they once had in their eyes. There is no clear conclusion, no dramatic reunion, but they realize that they were – and perhaps still are – an important part of each other's lives.

 

Themes and motifs:

• The search for a father you never knew

• The emotional emptiness and dependency in toxic relationships

• The healing of psychological wounds and the power of independence

• Love as escape and rescue, but also as danger

• The possibility of making peace with the past after years

Key conflicts:

• Alina's emotional dependency on Luca and her psychotic episodes when he is not around

• Nadine's inability to understand and support Alina's mental health issues

• Lucas own escape from society and inability to take responsibility for Alina

“Freedom” – The Musical

LAYOUT Version 241001

Genre: Drama, Musical, Love Story

Running time: 90–120 minutes

Location: A big city, Alina's home, rooftops, and the attic of the apartment building

Act 1: Lonely Dreams

Scene 1: Interior / Alina's bedroom – evening

(The camera shows Alina's room. It is small, chaotic, full of books, and looks abandoned. Alina, 17 years old, sits alone on her bed and stares expressionlessly at the wall. She is holding an old photo of her father, whom she never knew.)

Alina

(sings softly, lost in thought)

“Where are you, father, I know your face,

You live in dreams, but you are not here.

I imagine what it would be like for two of us,

You would be with me, I would be ready.”

(She sighs and puts the picture away, then walks slowly to the window and looks out.)

Song 1: “Vater im Traum”

(Alina sings about the daydreams in which her father is an ideal, loving protector. She imagines him consoling and understanding her.)

Scene 2: Interior / Kitchen – Later that evening

(Alina sits silently at the kitchen table while her mother Nadine hectically runs around the kitchen. Nadine seems exhausted, the traces of a hard life are clearly visible on her face.)

Nadine

(impatiently)

Alina, stop daydreaming. It's no use! You have to pull yourself together. Life is not a fairy tale.

Alina

(whispering, almost to herself)

But what if I need it?

Nadine

(sharply)

Life is hard. Feelings only make it worse. Stop dreaming about your father, he's not here – and never will be.

Alina

(sadly)

I wish you would understand me...

(Nadine ignores Alina as she dejectedly leaves the room.)

Song 2: “Can you hear me?”

(Alina sings as she walks through the corridors of the house and retreats to the attic. She wonders why her mother doesn't understand her and why her feelings are always ignored. Her voice sounds vulnerable but full of longing.)

Scene 3: Interior / Attic – Night

(Alina is sitting in the attic, surrounded by old boxes. The attic is her retreat, a place where she can be alone with her thoughts. She looks sad, her eyes wandering around the room. She is thinking about death.)

Alina

(whispering)

What if I just disappear? No more dreams, no more pain... just silence.

(She is holding an old rope in her hand and staring at it. Her gaze is empty when suddenly a noise startles her.)

Luca

(panting frantically, enters the attic through the window)

Damn it... They're right on my heels.

(Alina looks up in shock. She and Luca stare at each other for a moment. Luca quickly realizes what Alina was about to do.)

Luca

(hastily)

Hey, wait a minute... you don't have to do that. I know it feels like there's no way out. But there always is.

Alina

(uneasily)

Who are you?

Luca

(calmly)

Just someone who has often been on the brink of disaster.

Act 2: The encounter and the escape

Scene 4: Inside / attic – night

(Luca sits down with Alina and begins to listen to her story. Alina, still suspicious, slowly opens up. She learns that Luca is fleeing from the police. The two feel a strange connection to each other.)

Luca

(encouragingly)

You're stronger than you think, Alina. I'm here, and as long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you.

Alina

(hesitantly)

You understand me... why?

Luca

(wistfully)

Because I know what it's like to have no one. But now we have each other.

Song 3: “Escape into the Light”

(Luca and Alina sing together, dreaming of their escape from their inner and outer demons together. It is a song full of hope and longing for freedom, accompanied by gentle guitar sounds and a rising choir.)

Scene 5: Outside / city roofs – dawn

(Alina and Luca are running across the city's rooftops, with the police still chasing him. Alina laughs for the first time in a long while, feeling alive and free as she runs by Luca's side.)

Alina

(Laughing)

I feel like I'm flying!

Luca

(Smiling)

This is what freedom is. For this moment, we are unstoppable.

Song 4: “Über den Dächern”

(A dynamic, joyful song in which Alina and Luca celebrate freedom on the rooftops. The sky begins to change color as the new day breaks.)

Act 3: Love and Betrayal

Scene 6: Interior / Alina's room – Night

(Alina falls more and more in love with Luca, but her emotional dependence grows. Luca is not always there, and every time he disappears, Alina falls into deep despair. She begins to have severe mental seizures that become more and more intense.)

Song 5: “Nur du”

(Alina sings about her obsessive love for Luca and the fear of losing him. The song is intense and full of emotion, with dramatic crescendos that depict Alina's internal struggle.)

Scene 7: Exterior / Abandoned Warehouse – Night

(Luca, who is struggling with his own demons, knows that Alina's dependence on him is becoming dangerous. He loves her, but he realizes that he cannot save her without losing himself. After a heated argument, he decides to leave town.)

Luca

(Wistfully)

I'm sorry, Alina. I wanted to save you, but I can't. I have to go.

Song 6: “Farewell in the Night”

(A sad duet in which Luca and Alina say goodbye with heavy hearts. The song is emotional and bittersweet, with a sense of inevitable end.)

Act 4: The Long Road to Freedom

Scene 8: Interior / attic – years later

(25 years have passed. Alina is now a grown woman. She is sitting in the attic again, browsing the internet and comes across an article about Luca. She writes him a message and gets an answer.)

Song 7: “Freedom”

(The final song expresses the feeling that both of them had to find their own way in order to ultimately find peace. It is a powerful song about courage, love and the long road to emotional and external freedom.)

Final scene: Outside / Café – Day

(Alina and Luca meet after all these years in a small café. They smile at each other and there is a brief moment of connection before they say goodbye again – but this time in peace.)

END