AMIGO | Short Film by Adnan G. Köse

SHORT FILM · IN FINANCING
Principal photography planned for November / December 2026

Written & Directed by Adnan G. Köse
Starring Gottfried Thoma as Wilhelm

New Dakota Studios is currently preparing the short fiction film AMIGO.

The project is in the financing phase, with principal photography planned for November and December 2026.

AMIGO is conceived as a concentrated, visually driven short film, with a strong focus on performance, atmosphere, light and sound. Preparations for the shoot are already underway.

Further production news will follow as the project moves toward principal photography.

Status: Financing
Format: Short Fiction Film
Production: New Dakota Studios
Planned Shoot: November / December 2026, North Rhine-Westphalia

LOGLINE

After losing the life he once knew, 75-year-old Wilhelm sinks ever deeper into alcoholism, poverty and isolation, with only his standard poodle Amigo left by his side. But when desperation drives Wilhelm to betray the one source of unconditional loyalty he has left, he must decide whether to keep giving up — or find the courage to set out into life once more.

SYNOPSIS

Wilhelm is 75 years old. Once an art teacher, almost nothing remains of the life he used to know. His house has been stripped bare and the electricity cut off. At night, only candles and kerosene lamps illuminate the abandoned rooms. At his side is Amigo, a proud standard poodle and the last companion Wilhelm has left.

As Wilhelm tries to preserve his dignity, financial hardship and alcohol increasingly dominate his daily life. At a local bar, he keeps himself going with his usual level of intoxication; at the supermarket, he counts every cent. Yet whatever he goes without himself, he still tries to provide for Amigo. Because in the dog Wilhelm sees something he can barely find in people anymore: intelligence, dignity, heart — and loyalty without calculation.

Again and again, Wilhelm’s thoughts return to the banks of the Rhine. There, Ilse sits beside him, the woman with whom he shared his life. The same question keeps haunting him: “How much longer are you going to wait?” She is referring to an old dream they shared: to leave everything behind, climb into a small motorhome and simply drive away. But Wilhelm’s only answer is: “It’s complicated, Ilse.”

At the bar, Wilhelm encounters a well-dressed stranger who takes a conspicuous interest in Amigo. Twice, the man offers Wilhelm money for the dog. Although Wilhelm desperately needs the money, he refuses. Amigo is not for sale. But when the stranger eventually stops asking and simply gives the hungry dog some food — and Amigo accepts it — he strikes Wilhelm at his most vulnerable point. To the old man, his dog’s harmless instinct feels like betrayal.

Heavily drunk, Wilhelm ties Amigo up outside the bar. In his anger, he pushes away the only companion he has left and walks off. When he realizes what he has done, he returns — but Amigo is gone. Wilhelm accuses the stranger of taking the dog. To no avail. No one knows where Amigo is.

Alone in the dark, empty house, Wilhelm breaks down. Then he hears a sound at the door: Amigo has found his way back on his own. Without reproach, without asking anything in return. Wilhelm does not respond with words. In an old wooden tub, he washes and tends to his dog’s neglected coat. The gesture becomes a silent apology — and the first step back toward taking responsibility.

Wilhelm decides to stop drinking. He pours his last bottles down the drain. But withdrawal pushes him to his physical and emotional limits. In the dark rooms, memory, dream and reality begin to blur. Ilse appears once more and asks the same question: “How much longer are you going to wait?” This time, Wilhelm can no longer avoid answering her.

Time passes. Then Wilhelm stands beside a small motorhome with Amigo. Ilse is no longer there, and the life he lost will not return either. But Wilhelm is no longer waiting. Together with Amigo, he drives away.