{ "id": "ep00srqw57", "slug": "honig-im-kopf", "title": "Honig im Kopf", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "label": "Titles symbols to I", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Honig im Kopf (Head Full of Honey) is Til Schweiger's 2014 German tragicomedy about girl Tilda taking her grandfather Amandus, who has Alzheimer's, to Venice; 7.2 million German viewers, 2018 US remake flopped.", "snippet": "Honig im Kopf (Head Full of Honey) is Til Schweiger's 2014 German tragicomedy about girl Tilda taking her grandfather Amandus, who has Alzheimer's, to Venice; 7.2 million German viewers, 2018 US remake flopped.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "markdown": "# Honig im Kopf\n\n**Honig im Kopf** (literally \"Honey in the Head\", released internationally as *Head Full of Honey*) is a 2014 German tragicomedy directed by [Til Schweiger](https://www.edgepedia.org/til-schweiger) about an eleven-year-old girl who takes her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's disease, on a journey to Venice.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) It was produced by Barefoot Films GmbH with Warner Bros. Filmproduktion and SevenPictures Film, and released in Germany by Warner Bros. Pictures Germany on 25 December 2014.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writers | Til Schweiger; screenplay by Schweiger and Hilly Martinek[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) |\n| Running time and rating | 139 minutes; FSK 6 (approved for ages 6 and up)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) |\n| German release | 25 December 2014[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) |\n| Lead cast | Dieter Hallervorden (Amandus), Emma Schweiger (Tilda), Til Schweiger (Niko)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) |\n| German attendance | 7.2 million viewers, the most successful film in Germany in 2014[2](https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/honig-im-kopf) |\n| Worldwide gross | $78,127,384[3](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8320847/) |\n| Major award | Deutscher Filmpreis 2015, Lola in Gold for the year's most-attended film[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) |\n| Remake | *Head Full of Honey* (US, 2018), also directed by Schweiger[4](https://amp.dw.com/en/why-was-the-german-comedy-head-full-of-honey-a-total-flop/a-47856170) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe pensioner Amandus lives with his grown-up son Niko and Niko's eleven-year-old daughter Tilda, and the three get along well, with a close bond between the girl and her humorous, good-natured grandfather. Amandus then begins to show signs of dementia and can no longer manage on his own. When his condition worsens, Niko concludes that he cannot care for his father alone and decides to move him into a nursing home. Tilda is devastated by the decision and runs off with her grandfather on an eventful trip to fulfill his greatest wish: to see Venice once more in his lifetime.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) The German Federal Film Fund's synopsis adds that Venice is the city where Amandus met and fell in love with his wife years before.[5](https://www.ffa.de/files/dfff/foerderzusagen/DFFF%20I_gef%C3%B6rderte%20Filme_2014.pdf)\n\nThe story treats Alzheimer's disease largely through the eyes of a child, which means taking it mostly with humor, without losing sight of the illness's tragedy.[6](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_honig-im-kopf-2014.htm) A festival synopsis describes the attempt to cure the father as failing, while the family comes together again.[7](https://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/component/festivalmanager/movie/1931.html)\n\n## Cast and production\n\nDieter Hallervorden, a comedian honored that same year with the German Film Award for *Sein letztes Rennen*, plays Amandus; Emma Schweiger, the director's own daughter, plays Tilda; and Til Schweiger plays Niko. Jeanette Hain plays Sarah, Katharina Thalbach plays Vivian, Jan Josef Liefers plays Serge, Tilo Prückner plays Dr. Ehlers, and Mehmet Kurtuluş plays Dr. Holst.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_)\n\nShooting ran from 27 April to 4 July 2014 in Hamburg and its surroundings, Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg), South Tyrol, and Venice.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) The film received €1,041,680 in support from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), with funding also from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Filmförderungsanstalt, Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, and IDM Südtirol.[5](https://www.ffa.de/files/dfff/foerderzusagen/DFFF%20I_gef%C3%B6rderte%20Filme_2014.pdf) • [1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) Martin Schlecht was the director of photography, and the score is by Martin Todsharow, Dirk Reichardt, and David Jürgens.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_)\n\n## Box office and reception\n\nThe film drew 7.2 million viewers in Germany in 2014, making it the most successful film of the year there, and sold about 470,000 tickets in Switzerland.[2](https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/honig-im-kopf) Its worldwide gross was $78,127,384.[3](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8320847/) With a total take of 58 million euros and 30 weeks in the German top 20, it became the most successful film of Til Schweiger's 25-year career and, by revenue, the most successful German film since Michael Herbig's *Der Schuh des Manitu* (2001), which had grossed 65 million euros.[8](https://www.filmstiftung.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/mag315_gesamt.pdf) An academic survey of German popular cinema places it among the most successful German productions since 1968, and notes that it remains the only drama with a serious core in that top group, which is otherwise made up of adventure films and comedies.[7](https://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/component/festivalmanager/movie/1931.html)\n\n## Awards\n\nThe film's honors include the Lola in Gold at the Deutscher Filmpreis 2015 for the most-attended film of the year, a Bambi (jury honorary award) in 2015, the Bavarian Film Award audience prize in 2016, the Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis from the Club of Berlin Film Journalists, the CIVIS Media Prize for cinema in 2015, and the FBW rating *wertvoll* (valuable) in 2014.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_) IMDb additionally lists Romy awards in 2015 for Dieter Hallervorden as favorite actor and for Til Schweiger as best director and best producer.[9](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt3488462/awards/)\n\n## American remake\n\nSchweiger remade his own film in English as *Head Full of Honey* (2018), starring [Nick Nolte](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-nolte) as the grandfather Amadeus, Matt Dillon as the son Nick, Emily Mortimer as Sarah, and Nolte's daughter Sophie Lane Nolte as the granddaughter Matilda.[4](https://amp.dw.com/en/why-was-the-german-comedy-head-full-of-honey-a-total-flop/a-47856170) • [10](https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/60/2/359/5754062) The remake received a limited US release in November 2018 in two cities, partly to qualify for the 2019 Academy Awards, and was pulled from distribution after about a week, grossing roughly $12,300 in the United States and $138,844 in total.[11](https://www.moviepilot.de/news/head-full-of-honey-alles-zum-remake-von-honig-im-kopf-1113144) • [12](https://research.aston.ac.uk/files/58723164/AgeingMasculinitiesweb.pdf) Critics in the US and England attacked it harshly; a New York Times review cited its \"bizarre plotting and shrill performances.\"[4](https://amp.dw.com/en/why-was-the-german-comedy-head-full-of-honey-a-total-flop/a-47856170) Schweiger himself described the English version as perhaps \"a tick emotionally deeper\" but shorter than the German film.[13](https://mail.freenet.de/unterhaltung/promis/head-full-of-honey-vs.-honig-im-kopf--til-schweiger-uber-seine-filme-40380626.html) A review in *The Gerontologist* by scholars of aging noted that the remake is unusual among dementia films in having a youthful protagonist in the central caregiving role.[10](https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/60/2/359/5754062)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Honig im Kopf, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/honig-im-kopf_)\n2. [Honig im Kopf, TV Wunschliste](https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/honig-im-kopf)\n3. [Honig im Kopf, Kinoafisha](https://www.kinoafisha.info/en/movies/8320847/)\n4. [Why was 'Head Full of Honey' a flop?, Deutsche Welle, 21 March 2019](https://amp.dw.com/en/why-was-the-german-comedy-head-full-of-honey-a-total-flop/a-47856170)\n5. [Geförderte Filme 2014, Deutscher Filmförderfonds (FFA)](https://www.ffa.de/files/dfff/foerderzusagen/DFFF%20I_gef%C3%B6rderte%20Filme_2014.pdf)\n6. [Honig im Kopf, Moviemaster](https://www.moviemaster.de/filme/film_honig-im-kopf-2014.htm)\n7. [Honig im Kopf / Head Full of Honey, FilmFestival Cottbus](https://www.filmfestivalcottbus.de/en/component/festivalmanager/movie/1931.html)\n8. [Filmstiftung NRW magazine 3/2015](https://www.filmstiftung.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/mag315_gesamt.pdf)\n9. [Honig im Kopf (2014) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt3488462/awards/)\n10. [Head Full of Honey: Finding the Sweet Spot on Dementia Awareness, The Gerontologist](https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/60/2/359/5754062)\n11. [Head Full of Honey – Alle Infos zum Remake von Honig im Kopf, Moviepilot](https://www.moviepilot.de/news/head-full-of-honey-alles-zum-remake-von-honig-im-kopf-1113144)\n12. [Ageing Masculinities in European and American Cinema, Aston University research output](https://research.aston.ac.uk/files/58723164/AgeingMasculinitiesweb.pdf)\n13. [Head Full of Honey vs. Honig im Kopf: Til Schweiger über seine Filme, B.Z. via Freenet](https://mail.freenet.de/unterhaltung/promis/head-full-of-honey-vs.-honig-im-kopf--til-schweiger-uber-seine-filme-40380626.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2013 to 2014 › Titles symbols to I*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Honig im Kopf\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Honig im Kopf](https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf](https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Honig im Kopf\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/honig-im-kopf. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Honig im Kopf is Til Schweiger's 2014 German tragicomedy about girl Tilda taking her grandfather Amandus, who has Alzheimer's, to Venice; 7.2 million German viewers, 2018 US remake flopped." }