This series directed by Frauke Sandig follows five young immigrants from widely diverse cultures, nations and social backgrounds as they travel to Germany and attempt to start new lives there. It covers the first year from before their arrival through the trials and tribulations of getting settled in. What each immigrant has in common is their desire to live in Germany permanently and legally. The emphasis is on personal observations and everyday experiences in a new and strange country, cutting back and forth from one character to another.

The film makers Irene Langemann, Hanne Schön, Timur Diehn and Frauke Sandig focus on the questions of what ideas, visions and dreams the immigrants have of Germany before leaving their countries of origin. What situations and difficulties, what positive and negative surprises do they encounter after their arrival? What obstacles do they have to overcome? How do they find jobs, apartments and new friends? How well do they cope with the authorities - and with everyday life? How do they go about learning the German language? How do they deal with homesickness? And not least: how do they see Germany and its people? What cultural differences and similarities do they see? 

These are the common questions that immigrants face all over the world. 

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For more information about this series, inlcuding bios of the participants, visit Deutsche Welle's Strangers page.