Screen can reveal the first English-language trailer for Burhan Qurbani’s Berlin Alexanderplatz, which will have its world premiere in Competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival (20 Feb - 1 Mar).

Qurbani and co-writer Martin Behnke have drawn on elements and characters from Alfred Döblin’s 1929 Weimer Republic era classic novel for this tale set in present-day Berlin.

It stars Welket Bungué as a refugee from Guinea-Bissau who struggles to survive in the German capital without papers after illegally crossing by boat from Africa to Europe. His attempts to do this by honest means are challenged when he is befriended by a shady German drug dealer in a relationship that will result in both tragedy and redemption. Jella Haase and Albrecht Schuch co-star.

Beta Cinema is handling sales. The film is produced by Sommerhaus Filmproduktion (Germany) in co-production with Lemming Film (Netherlands).