Kleines Universum

For Amena Karimyan, not even the sky is the limit. In Afghanistan, she founded the astronomy club "Kayhana" – Persian for "Little Universe". As a self-taught astronomer, she introduced young girls to the wonders of the universe using a handmade model of the solar system. She hoped that astronomy would broaden their horizons and inspire them to reach for the stars in a male-dominated society. When the radical Islamic Taliban seized power, her work as an astronomer and activist put her life at risk. Now, in exile in Germany, she is struggling to rebuild her own life in a country that seems full of opportunities. Since childhood, the twenty-something has dreamed of flying to the moon – a dream that for the first time in her life seems within her grasp and yet has never been so distant. Caught between the burden of her past, the German bureaucratic system, and her own ambitions, Amena embarks on a mission to ultimately find her place on Earth. Through atmospheric imagery from this and other worlds, "Little Universe" offers a multi-layered portrait of a trailblazing young woman, reminding us that the boundaries of our personal universes are movable.