# Oh Boy
**Oh Boy** is a 2012 German tragicomedy directed and written by Jan Ole Gerster, his feature film debut, in which [Tom Schilling](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-schilling) plays Niko Fischer, a law-school dropout in his late twenties who drifts through a single day in Berlin while his comfortable life quietly falls apart.[1](https://www.x-verleih.de/filme/oh-boy/) • [2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) Shot in black and white with a jazz soundtrack, the film became one of Germany's most successful recent independent films and won six Lolas at the 2013 Deutscher Filmpreis, including Best Feature Film in Gold.[3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/oh-boy) • [4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) In English-speaking markets it was released under the title *A Coffee in Berlin*.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/material/1246015)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and screenwriter | Jan Ole Gerster, his feature debut and graduation film at the dffb film academy in Berlin[1](https://www.x-verleih.de/filme/oh-boy/) • [6](https://www.torinofilmlab.it/public/library/pdf/pdf-4-20-2023-2-46-23-PM-tfl-catalogue-2016.pdf) |
| Lead role | Tom Schilling as Niko Fischer, with Marc Hosemann, Friederike Kempter, Ulrich Noethen, Justus von Dohnányi, Michael Gwisdek, Katharina Schüttler and Frederick Lau[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) |
| Format | 85 minutes, 35 mm, 16:9, black-and-white photography by Philipp Kirsamer[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) • [3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/oh-boy) |
| Production | Schiwago Film GmbH in co-production with Chromosom Film GmbH, Hessischer Rundfunk and ARTE, funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) |
| Shooting | 7 June to 10 July 2010, in Berlin[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) |
| German release | Premiere at the Munich Filmfest on 2 July 2012; theatrical release 1 November 2012; rated FSK 12[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) |
| Major awards | Six Lolas at the 2013 Deutscher Filmpreis; European Discovery (Prix Fipresci) at the 2013 European Film Awards; Bambi for Best National Actor[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Niko Fischer is in his late twenties and dropped out of law school two years earlier, a fact he has concealed from his wealthy father, who still transfers money every month.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) The film follows one turbulent day in episodes. It begins badly when his girlfriend Elli ends the relationship, and worsens: an ATM swallows his debit card because his account is empty, a psychologist at the MPU driving-license test, which Niko must take after repeated drunk-driving offenses, certifies his "emotional imbalance", fare inspectors catch him without a ticket on the U-Bahn, and his father Walter summons him to a golf course to cut off the monthly 1,000 euros.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) • [7](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/227503/en/interview/398466/)
Running through the day is a small, repeated quest: Niko keeps trying to order an ordinary cup of coffee and keeps failing, first because a café charges 3.40 euros he finds excessive, then because he has no cash.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) Along the way he encounters neighbors, his friend Matze, an old schoolmate, and an elderly man named Friedrich in a bar, who tells him his life story. A former classmate, Julika Hoffmann, reappears and confronts him with their shared past.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) The distributor's synopsis frames the question the day poses: whether Niko will finally leave his comfort zone and change his life.[1](https://www.x-verleih.de/filme/oh-boy/)
## Production
Gerster, born in 1978 in Hagen, Westphalia, worked for the production company X-Filme Creative Pool before studying screenwriting and directing at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb); *Oh Boy* was his graduation film there.[6](https://www.torinofilmlab.it/public/library/pdf/pdf-4-20-2023-2-46-23-PM-tfl-catalogue-2016.pdf) • [2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) Filming took place in Berlin from 7 June to 10 July 2010.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) The film was completed only hours before the deadline for its 2012 festival premiere.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/material/1246015)
The producers were Marcos Kantis, Martin Lehwald and Alexander Wadouh for Schiwago Film GmbH, in co-production with Chromosom Film GmbH and Hessischer Rundfunk and in association with ARTE, with funding from Medienboard Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg).[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_) Philipp Kirsamer was the cinematographer, Anja Siemens the editor, and Juliane Friedrich the production designer.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_)
## Style and music
The film is photographed in black and white and moves between melancholy and humor, portraying both its protagonist and the city he inhabits.[1](https://www.x-verleih.de/filme/oh-boy/) Its structure compresses a coming-of-age story into a 24-hour span told in episodes.[8](https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/flm/arc/fdb.cfm?filmdbId=1808112140270100001) The Goethe-Institut's catalog notes that Gerster recalls the early works of [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen) and Martin Scorsese's *After Hours*, as well as the late-1960s Schwabing films, while developing his own tone.[8](https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/flm/arc/fdb.cfm?filmdbId=1808112140270100001)
The score, by Cherilyn MacNeil and the band The Major Minors, is jazzy; the International Film Festival Rotterdam's description credits it with helping carry the film from slacker comedy toward what it calls a poignant ode to Berlin, its residents and its past.[3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/oh-boy) The film's Berlin setting is itself treated as a subject, with locations such as the Prenzlauer Berg apartment of the title character tying it to earlier German city films like *Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser*.[2](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_)
## Release and reception
The film premiered in Germany at the Munich Filmfest on 2 July 2012 and opened theatrically on 1 November 2012, distributed by X Verleih.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) It was also selected for the Forum of Independents at the [Karlovy Vary](https://www.edgepedia.org/karlovy-vary) festival in 2012, and screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2013.[7](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/227503/en/interview/398466/) • [3](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/oh-boy) It was released internationally as *A Coffee in Berlin*.[5](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/material/1246015)
At the 2013 Deutscher Filmpreis it won six Lolas: Best Feature Film in Gold, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Gerster), Best Actor (Tom Schilling), Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Music.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) At the 2013 [European Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-film-awards) it won the European Discovery award and the Prix Fipresci, and Schilling received a Bambi for Best National Actor in 2013 and the German Actor Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role in 2014.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba) Earlier festival honors included the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino for screenplay, the German Independence Award for Best German Film, and an audience award at the Munich Filmfest in 2012.[9](https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf100/oh-boy_didaktisierung.pdf)
The film has remained available on home video and streaming: a Blu-ray and DVD edition from Warner Home Video appeared in Germany on 24 May 2013, and in the United States it streams under the *A Coffee in Berlin* title on subscription and ad-supported services.[10](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/availability) • [11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-coffee-in-berlin)
## References
1. [Oh Boy, X Verleih AG](https://www.x-verleih.de/filme/oh-boy/)
2. [Oh Boy, filmportal.de (English page with credits)](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/oh-boy_)
3. [Oh Boy, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2013/films/oh-boy)
4. [Oh Boy, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/oh-boy_7fb25039789a4135acd2501b30216cba)
5. [Mad about the Boy, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/material/1246015)
6. [Torino Film Lab catalogue 2016 (Gerster biography)](https://www.torinofilmlab.it/public/library/pdf/pdf-4-20-2023-2-46-23-PM-tfl-catalogue-2016.pdf)
7. [Interview: Jan Ole Gerster, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/227503/en/interview/398466/)
8. [Oh Boy, Goethe-Institut film catalogue](https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/flm/arc/fdb.cfm?filmdbId=1808112140270100001)
9. [Oh Boy didactic materials, Goethe-Institut](https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf100/oh-boy_didaktisierung.pdf)
10. [Oh Boy availability, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/node/1184293/availability)
11. [A Coffee in Berlin streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-coffee-in-berlin)
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*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 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2012*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license