Director Baran bo Odar’s 2010 film The Silence was an international hit and landed him a coveted spot on Variety’s list of ‘10 Directors to Watch.’ With his follow-up, the fast-paced techno-thriller Who Am I, that designation proves accurate indeed.

Benjamin (Tom Schilling) is the prototypical computer geek: no fashion sense, no friends and no girlfriend. What he does have is a talent for all things digital. His online activity catches the eye of Max (Elyas M’Barek), a would-be revolutionary who yearns to ‘hack the world’ but needs Benjamin’s skills. The duo teams up with fellow wunderkinds to form the hacker collective CLAY, infiltrating international security systems and hacking for social justice. And they’re good at it – so good that they come to the attention of the German Secret Service, Europol and, most frighteningly, a sinister rival hacker. Hemmed in on all sides, Benjamin finds his expertise put to a life-or-death test.

Fusing high-stakes intrigue, crackling tension and stylish action sequences, Who Am I is a suspensefilled meditation on the search for identity in the information age.

Jane Schoettle
Toronto International Film Festival

Presented in co-operation with the Goethe-Institut Irland

 

Please note that the festival is over 18s only