OASIS

When a viral video of a student threatening his classmates surfaces online, the school spirals into escalating violence. Crushed by the pressure of teachers and parents, three outcasts take refuge in a nearby forest. There, play hardens into ritual and pain becomes an escape, until old wounds surface and the boundaries between them are redrawn.

***Winner of the Grand Jury Prize – Bisato d’Oro, awarded by the Independent Film Critics at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival***

‚Impressively taut and eerie debut’ (Variety)

‚A confident feature debut that puts a fascinating spin on the coming-of-age genre, bolstered by the efforts of its young leads who fit together seamlessly’ (Little White Lies)

‚A fresh perspective that will linger’ (Cineuropa)

‚A film that at times feels like a Grimms Brothers fairytale, and, at others, an all-too-real vision of modern-day youth crisis’ (Variety)

‚Lenz demonstrates an adept hand at constructing exquisite tension. Probes the gaps, silences, awkwardness and muffled rage beneath adolescent volatility like few films manage to achieve’ (High on Films)

‚Promising debut from a talented storyteller. With a deft hand Lenz leads his audience through this story of making connections’ (International Cinephile Society)

‚A thoughtful, oblique, and quietly incisive examination of the increasingly aggressive society we now inhabit‘ (Micropsia)

‚For its striking visual language and extraordinary sensitivity, Jannis Lenz transforms adolescent violence into a powerful meditation on vulnerability, belonging and human connection. Oase is bold, unsettling and deeply moving. We award the Grand Jury Prize to Jannis Lenz for Oase.’ (Independent Film Critics’ Jury, 83rd Venice International Film Festival – BISATO D’ORO)

A production of Zeitgeist Filmproduktion in co-production with Wega Filmproduktionsges.m.b.h and Third Picture Filmproduktion, in collaboration with WeFadeToGrey, Totem Films and Ocean Pictures Filmproduktion. Supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media – BKM, German Federal Film Fund – DFFF, Austrian Film Institute – ÖFI, Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg mbH – MFG, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW GmbH, Kuratorium junger deutscher Film and German Federal Film Board – FFA.

Participant in the “Work in Progress” program at Les Arcs Industry Village 2025.