Sicko (kasachische OmeU) // 40. Fantasy Filmfest // Deutschlandpremiere

For Aza, one personal catastrophe follows another, and he is deeply in debt to boot. Then he claims that his wife has terminal cancer. After shaving her head and posting a heartbreaking crowdfunding video, the entire country is moved by the fate of the “seriously ill” Tancho and her “devoted” husband. Media stars are born, and the donations come pouring in. A dizzying ride to fortune begins – but an inevitable and merciless downfall awaits: insatiable greed, a corrupt doctor, and a ruthless junkie couple working for the mafia drive the couple toward their doom.

The deeply bitter, highly explosive thriller satire SICKO dissects a world of amorality, both on and off the screen. It’s not just Aza who becomes increasingly depraved; the spiral of physical and psychological violence – disturbingly realistic in its brutality – keeps tightening relentlessly, pushing the audience’s nerves to the absolute breaking point. What a profoundly disturbing and uncompromisingly cynical trip!