Where Hands Touch

Set in 1944 Germany, the film centers on Leyna, a 15-year-old girl born to a white German mother and a black African father. She enters adolescence under a society that polices race with harsh rules. Leyna forms a fragile bond with Lutz, a thoughtful member of the Hitler Youth, whose father is a prominent Nazi soldier. Their growing closeness unfolds as the war reshapes every street and classroom, and the risk of exposure looms over even small acts of affection. As fear and suspicion mount, Leyna and Lutz must decide what matters most: family loyalty, personal safety, or the pull of a forbidden connection. Amandla Stenberg and George MacKay portray the pair with quiet intensity. The film also highlights the everyday realities faced by Leyna and others under the regime, from school to neighborhood.

Released in 2018 and directed by Amma Asante, the drama relies on an original screenplay. It stars Amandla Stenberg as Leyna and George MacKay as Lutz, offering a restrained, humanitarian lens on a fraught period and its personal costs.

Box Office Revenue: $128,269 worldwide, reflecting a limited release that did not secure broad distribution in many markets and reached only a niche audience. The modest figures mirror its targeted, non mainstream release strategy across Europe and selected North America.

The film ignited conversations about how race, power, and desire are portrayed in a Nazi setting. It prompts discussions about representation in period dramas, the ethics of portraying romance within a totalitarian state, and the way cinema can challenge or confirm viewers' assumptions about history, race, and resilience in modern discourse today and beyond.

Critics offered a mixed verdict on tone and pacing, but many praised the performances and the way the film confronts uncomfortable questions about belonging. Thematically, it examines how prejudice shapes identity, the pressure to conform, and the fragile balance between personal longing and societal peril that resonates after the credits.