A German doctor in Africa is afraid to return to Europe. Drama by Ulrich Köhler.

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Ebbo has lived with his wife Vera in Cameroon for a few years. He's a doctor working for a medical aid program fighting sleeping sickness – a big problem in tropical Africa. But Vera misses life in Germany and especially their 14-year-old daughter Helen, who's back there in boarding school. The two decide to return home as the project seems to be completed. But every day, Ebbo is increasingly afraid of returning to Europe...

Schlafkrankheit is not a film about Africa; it's about Europeans in Africa. The focus is on Ebbo, whose inner turmoil has him torn between two continents. Director Ulrich Köhler adds this disjointedness to the dramaturgical level, introducing a new protagonist halfway through the movie. In doing so he creates distance that develops its own dynamic, for an effect that is more reflection of than identification with the events that occur. The "Berlin School" film movement goes on a fascinating field trip to Africa.