Winfried doesn’t see much of his working daughter Ines. The suddenly student-less music teacher decides to surprise her with a visit after the death of his old dog. It’s an awkward move because serious career woman Ines is working on an important project as a corporate strategist in Bucharest. The geographical change doesn’t help the two to see more eye to eye. Practical joker Winfried loves to annoy his daughter with corny pranks. What’s worse are his little jabs at her routine lifestyle of long meetings, hotel bars and performance reports. Father and daughter reach an impasse, and Winfried agrees to return home to Germany. Enter flashy „Toni Erdmann“: Winfried’s smooth-talking alter ego. Disguised in a tacky suit, weird wig and even weirder fake teeth, Toni barges into Ines’ professional life, claiming to be her CEO’s life coach. As Toni, Winfried is bolder and doesn’t hold back, but Ines meets the challenge. The harder they push, the closer they become. In all the madness, Ines begins to understand that her eccentric father might deserve some place in her life after all.

Maren Ade‘s second feature EVERYONE ELSE won two Silver Bears at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival: the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actress for Birgit Minichmayr. The modern relationship drama was released in over 25 countries and received three nominations for the German Film Award.
Her first feature THE FOREST FOR THE TREES won the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and a Best Film nomination for the German Film Award. The touching drama was her graduation film from HFF University of Television and Film Munich.
Maren Ade also works as a producer for other filmmakers. In 2000, she founded the film production company Komplizen Film with producer Janine Jackowski.

Filmography
2009 EVERYONE ELSE (Alle Anderen)
2003 THE FOREST FOR THE TREES (Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen)
2001 VEGAS (short)
2000 EBENE 9 (short)