“Rave on” – A film about a club night – Frohdroh – Electronic Music from Leipzig

A feature film about techno and about intoxication? Always a big risk. Because the right degree of authenticity and aesthetics is apparently not so easy to find. “Rave On” is astonishingly well.

From July 31, 2025, “Rave on” will bring something on the screen, which is so rarely seen in the cinema: the interior of a club night. No documentary, no scenic monologues. Instead, an atmospheric pull that pulls in directly. And exactly where it is dark, sweaty, euphoric, flickering and sometimes quite lost-in a classic, underground techno club.

The film takes place somewhere in Berlin, at least in terms of content. But the scenery with an old industrial hall, the labyrinth-like corridors could just as well play in Leipzig or Hamburg. Incidentally, there is a small but quite important Leipzig cover at “Rave On”: The Leipzig film rental Weltkino brings the film into cinemas nationwide.

The focus is on Kosmo – a passionate and slightly manic producer and DJ, who had his momentum years ago, but then missed the leap to a higher level at the crucial moment. It is his night in which something wants to do well. And his night is our night: a trip through one of these typical labyrinth clubs. The camera sticks to it, drives through gears, stairwells, darkrooms, the dance floor. Everything is darkened, blurred, blurred, stubborn – as if the whole film itself was on a pill.

The plot is not particularly complex – but that doesn't matter. Because it's not about storytelling finesse, but about the feeling. About atmosphere. To capture a night that is much more than celebration: a night in which something is decided. For Kosmo. And maybe also for the scene.
What makes the film strong is its closeness and authenticity. The protagonist: Inside, do not act like actors: inside, but like people that we could really meet in the smoking area or at the bar during the day. The conversations, the music, the pace – everything really feels. In addition, there is the soundtrack, curated and produced by Techno hero Ed Davenport: a reserved, organic techno that reproduces the energy of a club night very well. And even the star DJs in the film are also important musicians: inside and DJs-Hieroglyphic Being, for example, plays Kosmos' Hero Troy Porter and Lucia Lu embodies the new techno generation. This immediate authenticity is just right for the film and for this trip.

“Rave on” is also thematically close to some current topics and events: at the generation change in the scene, for example. Old hero: Inside, the connection loses the connection, the sound changes, new people come-and not everyone can get along with it, especially the (mostly male) techno-real keepers quickly get caught in complaining mode and accelerate the disconnect for the new. And the many ambivalences of club culture are also well indicated: commerce versus underground, social media-oversure versus camera stickers. And of course the openly celebrated drug use and intoxication between euphoric escapism and inner emptiness, lost souls alongside professional-raver: inside that have found their way.

But that night with ups and downs, epic highs and crashes there are always caring and collective moments, from guests: inside and in the awareness area. “Rave On” actually captures all these blatant contrasts in techno culture. And as a cosmos in the full frenzy with his idol Troy Porter Connected, he preaches exactly what many Raver feel: Techno stands for resolution at a collective moment. Every track belongs to everyone because it creates this special attachment. In the end it doesn't matter who produced it.

“Rave on” is not a perfect film. Some dialogues and figures look a bit plastic and oversubscribed. The later turning point does not do without kitsch and pathos. But this film hits a tone. And that's more than many others create. A film that does not talk about Techno, but lets him feel it. Maybe not for everyone. But for those who know how such a night feels, he is just right.

„Rave On“ in Leipzig

At the cinema release on July 31, 2025, “Rave On” can be seen in the Kinos passage and the Grünau Cineplex.

Hardfacts:
Directed by: Nikias Chryssos and Viktor Jakovleski
With: Aaron Altaras, Clemens Schick, ruby Commey, Hieroglyphic Being, Lucia Lucia Lucia lucia, June Ellys Mach UVW.
Production: Deutschland 2025
Running length: 80 minutes
FSK: from 16 years