Trailer Debut for 'Oasis': Jannis Lenz's First Feature Heads to Venice
The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively debuted the trailer and poster for Oasis (Oase), the debut feature from German writer-director Jannis Lenz. The film will world-premiere on 6 September in the Horizons section — Orizzonti in Italian — of the 83rd Venice Film Festival. A pass-holders screening is scheduled for 5 September at 19:30, with the public premiere set for the following afternoon at 16:45, per the festival's official programme. The Horizons section runs alongside the main competition at Venice and is dedicated to more formally adventurous work.
The film runs 118 minutes and is a German-Austrian production. The Hollywood Reporter published the trailer and poster on 17 August 2026, giving audiences their first look at Lenz's move from shorts to features.
The synopsis paints a tense, contemporary picture. 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. The festival's own page describes the film as being about young people's radical need to feel themselves and be seen beyond societal labels.
The cast is led by Florian Geißelmann, Anton Petzold, and Mathilda Smidt, with Godehard Giese, Britta Hammelstein, and Ioana Iacob in supporting roles. Lenz co-wrote the screenplay with Alexander Dirninger, who also served as director of photography. Editing was handled by Lenz and Melisa Krasniqi.
On the production side, Oasis is produced by Germany's Zeitgeist Filmproduktion, with Markus Kaatsch credited as producer per the international sales agent Totem Films. Austria's Wega Film and Germany's Third Picture co-produced, in collaboration with We Fade to Grey, Ocean Pictures Filmproduktion, and Totem Films. Totem Films also handles international sales, meaning the company will represent the film to distributors buying for territories outside its home markets.
Lenz arrives at Venice with a strong festival pedigree. His short Wannabe (2017) was nominated for a European Film Award, and Soldat Ahmet (2021) won several awards after its world premiere at Visions du Réel, the documentary festival in Nyon, Switzerland. He is also known for Betongeflüster (2024).
German audiences will get their chance to see Oasis in cinemas in February 2027, when Mindjazz Pictures is set to release it theatrically in Germany. The original language is German, with Italian and English subtitles at the Venice screenings, according to the festival's official calendar.
For a debut film-maker, landing a Horizons slot at Venice — one of the three major European festivals, alongside Cannes and Berlin — is a significant launchpad. The section has a track record of introducing directors who go on to wider international attention. With Totem Films handling sales on the Lido, Oasis will be available to buyers from the moment it screens.
