Kotti Express
Year: TBA
Duration: TBD (~90 min)
Country: Germany, China
Genre: Psycho Thriller, Drama
Technical: 4K DCI | Color | 5.1 Surround Sound
JJ, a queer woman from Chengdu, drifts through Berlin’s nightlife while ignoring messages about her dying mother. Pressured by her flatmate Karen, she takes a job at Hüseyin’s kebab shop, where she becomes fascinated by Petra, a withdrawn ex-cop who buys Ayran every day with the same ritual. Nights with Dominique, her new French lover, turn Petra into an obsession. When Petra gives JJ money for a locksmith and Sabine, her ex-wife, later hands her keys, JJ breaks into Petra’s flat and finds a preserved child’s room, a shrine to a dead son, and a fridge full of untouched Ayran.
After her mother’s suicide, JJ spirals into paranoia, secretly cleaning Petra’s flat and suspecting everyone of conspiring against her. Petra unravels too, wearing her old uniform and smashing Sabine’s shop. When police strip Petra of her uniform and escort her home, they find JJ inside. Petra shields her, and the two escape into the Berlin night, outsiders clinging to each other.
Work in progress: developing a POC to a feature film.
Director's Statement
Kotti Express comes from my years as an expat in Berlin, navigating the city’s mix of freedom, hostility, and alienation. Berlin has been my home, battlefield, and shelter, and I know its rhythms deeply: the U-Bahn tunnels, kebab counters that never close, and the nightclubs where joy and self-destruction blur together. Kreuzberg is the only place this story could happen, holding both the freedom and loneliness that define JJ’s and Petra’s lives.
The camera will move with its own rhythm, inspired by Christopher Doyle and Benoît Debie. Long shots in Debie’s style will establish space and mood, while handheld movement inspired by Doyle will bring intimacy. Club scenes will use jump cuts to emphasize disorientation and the chaos of Berlin nightlife.
The city itself will be treated as a character. Practical neon lighting will build mood, and layered city sounds like U-Bahn echoes and police sirens will immerse the audience. Sound, light, and rhythm will mirror the characters’ inner states.
Yun Huang, who plays JJ and co-wrote the script, has been central to the character’s creation. Writing together allowed us to explore JJ’s psychology, voice, and motivations in depth. We have already shot test scenes with the main cast, revealing strong chemistry and guiding adjustments to dialogue and gesture. These will inform rehearsals and improvisation to keep performances natural and grounded.
Music and soundscapes will be created with Berlin-based Hong-Konger musicians Hou Lam Wu (Eagle) and Tat Victor Sham, blending electronic textures with Berlin’s sonic environment.
At its core, Kotti Express is about exile and belonging. It is about two women who find each other when everything else has failed. Not as heroes or saviors, but as people who survive together. This is a film I can only tell here, in Berlin, and at this moment in my life.