MathFiction: Der kalte Himmel (Johannes Fabrick (director) / Andrea Stoll (writer))

a list compiled by Alex Kasman (College of Charleston)

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Der kalte Himmel (2011)

Johannes Fabrick (director) / Andrea Stoll (writer)
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In this German film, a woman raising her children on a farm in 1967 tries to get help for her mathematically talented but anti-social son. Obtaining the services of a forward-thinking Berlin psychiatrist, she learns the true extent of her son's mathematical (and musical) abilities, but also that he has autism, a new and devastating diagnosis for a mother at that time.

I have not actually seen this 2011 made-for-TV movie whose title translates as "The Cold Sky". If you have and can add any additional details, especially any related to the mathematical aspects, please let me know. Thanks to Hauke Reddmann for suggesting that I add it to the database.

More information about this work can be found at www.imdb.com.
(Note: This is just one work of mathematical fiction from the list. To see the entire list or to see more works of mathematical fiction, return to the Homepage.)

Works Similar to Der kalte Himmel

According to my `secret formula', the following works of mathematical fiction are similar to this one:

The Square Root of 2 by Hackie Reitman (writer and director) / Bernard Salzmann (director)
Question 3 by Martin Sandahl (Director and Writer)
X+Y (A Brilliant Young Mind) by Morgan Matthews (Director) / James Graham (Writer)
Gifted by Marc Webb (director) / Tom Flynn (writer)
The Capsule by Miceal Og O'Donnell (writer and director)
Batorsag and Szerelem [a.k.a. Beautiful Ohio] by Ethan Canin
Mozart and the Whale by Petter Næss (Director)
Hole in the Paper Sky by Howard Kingkade (Screenplay) / Bill Purple (Director)
Touch by Tim Kring
Margin Call by J.C. Chandor (Writer and Director)

Ratings for Der kalte Himmel:

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Categories:

Genre
Motif	Prodigies, Anti-social Mathematicians, Autism,
Topic
Medium	Television Series or Episode, Films,

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Where are the new works of mathematical fiction?: As you can see from this chronological listing, this database includes many works of mathematical fiction for each year from 1990 to 2025. Strangely, only two are listed for 2026, so far. Either less mathematical fiction is being published than in previous years or I'm just having more trouble finding it. If you know of any works of fiction that should be added to this list, especially recently published ones, please let me know. (Keep in mind that I do not include self-published works or children's fiction that just covers elementary mathematical concepts.) Thanks!

(Maintained by Alex Kasman, College of Charleston)