Julian Radlmaier's 'Phantoms of July' Screens as AfD Wins Election in Saxony-Anhalt
On September 6, Sunday, audiences viewed Julian Radlmaier's 'Phantoms of July' (2025), which tells the story of three individuals: a German woman who robs for love, an Iranian film student, and a Korean man offering alternative tours, all evading the law in Sangerhausen, Saxony-Anhalt. On the same day, the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland secured victories in regional elections, a fact unknown to the audience. Radlmaier selected Sangerhausen due to its far-right inclinations, incorporating hints about police interventions and local anti-migrant sentiments. Although 'Phantoms of July' does not engage in radical theoretical discussions, it retains a political essence, juxtaposing everyday aspirations against a hostile backdrop. The film's poster illustrates impoverished Germans and migrants resting together, hinting at a possible political coalition.
Key facts
- Julian Radlmaier's 'Phantoms of July' (2025) was screened on Sunday, September 6
- The film is set in Sangerhausen, Saxony-Anhalt
- Alternative für Deutschland won regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt on the same Sunday as the screening
- Radlmaier chose Sangerhausen because of the region's strong far-right tendency
- The film features a German woman who robbed for love, an Iranian film student influencer, and a Korean tour guide hiding an undocumented child
- Radlmaier's 2021 film 'Chupasangre. Una comedia marxista de vampiros' features a vampire factory owner and workers studying 'Das Kapital'
- His 2017 film 'Autocrítica de un perrito burgués' shows a filmmaker working on an apple farm that becomes a cooperative
- 'Phantoms of July' opens with a servant in a castle stealing horses to reach France during the Revolution
Entities
Artists
- Julian Radlmaier
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Karl Marx
- Leo Tolstoy
- Francis of Assisi
Institutions
- Alternative für Deutschland
- La Tempestad
- Mubi
Locations
- Sangerhausen
- Saxony-Anhalt
- Germany
- France
- United States
- Europe