Baby It's Cold Outside

Storyline

At the end of their studies, Finn and Johanna set off on a cheap ski trip – one last carefree escape before adulthood kicks in. But when a stray puppy shows up outside their hotel, everything changes. What starts as a harmless vacation spirals into a quiet reckoning – with their relationship, their values, and the prejudices they didn’t know they had.

About the film/director

Born and raised in Schwäbisch Hall in southern Germany, Jannik Weiße worked in Berlin as a journalist and author for renowned documentary and reportage formats for public and private broadcasters. In April 2025, he graduated from the renowned Baden-Württemberg Film Academy with a degree in feature film directing. His short films have premiered at film festivals such as the Max Ophüls Prize and were awarded the NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER in Cannes by the FFA and German Films. His medium-length film Babyboy, a German-Austrian co-production, won various awards, including the German Newcomer Film Award in Hanover. Baby, it's cold outside is Jannik's final project at the Film Academy, in co-production with SWR and Arte.

Director’s statement

I appreciate films that draw us to the side of a character - only to make us doubt whether we really want to go along with them. That's exactly what we want to achieve with Baby, it's cold outside.

At its core, the movie is about a couple who are unable to talk about their problems. Instead of dealing honestly with their relationship, they project their conflicts outwards - and involve people who have nothing to do with them. The fact that the German tourist couple are in a power imbalance with the Czech-Ukrainian hotel staff makes the conflict unavoidable - and existential. Their private drama does not remain private because it takes place in a world in which social inequalities determine who is heard and who is not. What begins as a relationship problem becomes a question of privilege, responsibility and the invisibility of those who keep everyday life going.

The movie is meant to be a mirror. An opportunity to observe ourselves in the way we act, repress, look away. Inside and outside. I believe that honest storytelling gives us a chance to learn something about ourselves.

Credits

German:

Jannik Weiße

Script:

Luis Martinson

Camera:

Editor:

Cast:

Emily Kusche, Enzo Brum

Sound:

Music:

Production:

Marius Beck, Paul Beck, Deliah Luger, Eva Obermüller, Jakob Wahl

Contact:

Katharina Hein

E-Mail:

festivals@apollonia-film.de

• Germany

• Czech, German / subtitles German
• 2025
• 26 min