Stopping (2015)

Four people go out to discover the vast field of meditation. Hectic, stress, pressure to perform and always busy: Four people between Berlin and London, who feel challenged in their everyday life, look for the calm and quiet of meditation in order to be better prepared for their lives. Focussing on their selves, zooming in on the elementary, they want to find the strength to make some changes. The film accompanies them to their courses. Friedrich, an anaesthesiologist visits the Allgäu and studies Vipassana meditation at the Buddha Haus, a practice, whereby one focuses mostly on breathing. In London, Dorothea, editor for an academic publisher, participates in an eight-week long course on MBSR (Mindfulness-based stress reduction). Uta, mother of three children, would like to be more relaxed with her children. The anthropological meditation opens her eyes for what is alive in our everyday life. Nico, a theologian, approaches meditation from a more physical angle. He practices zazen every day for 90 minutes in a monastery north of Hamburg.