Das Lied des toten Mädchens

Sauerland, autumn 1995: In the middle of the forest on the Wilzenberg, a walker finds the body of high school graduate Sonja Risse. However, the fact that the killer left a music box with the lullaby "Hush Little Baby" at the crime scene does not lead to a clear solving. 25 years later, the investigative journalist Stefanie Schneider, known as "Mütze", made a surprising discovery in Cologne. In a disused multi-storey car park, she films an undressed corpse of a man with a music box running next to it! When her colleague Jan Römer, who reported on the spectacular Sonja case as a young journalist in 1995, recognizes the melody from back then, he immediately believes there is a connection. He goes to Wilzenberg with his ambitious colleague to interview Sonja's mother Maria, her former teacher Waldheim and her best friends. The more the journalists compile, the clearer the contradictions and gaps that the investigators should have noticed at the time.

Directed by Felix Herzogenrath, Das Lied des toten Mädchens leans on a strong ensemble — Torben Liebrecht, Lara Mandoki, Kais Setti — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 2021.