Open the Wall2014

Director
Christian Schwochow

Acters

Charly Huebner (Harald Schaefer)
Milan Peschel (Ulrich Rotermund)
Ulrich Matthes (Hartmut Kummer)
Rainer Bock (Peter Arndt)
Max Hopp (Burkhard Schoenhammer)
Frederick Lau (Jens Rambold)

East Berlin, 1989. A rumor has crowds waiting at the Wall. Chief border guard Schäfer takes a little decision that will change the world…

It is 1989, the twilight of the communist empire. It starts with a few curious East-Germans gathering around the border-crossing between East and West Berlin at Bornholmer Strasse on the evening of November 9th, 1989. They had watched TV, just like chief border guard Lieutenant Colonel Harald Schäfer. They had all heard what an official announced: East-German citizens allowed to cross the border, effective immediately. For a nation kept behind gates and fences for 28 years, the news sounds so strange it could be true. As the handful of East Germans begins to grow, Schäfer needs something to calm his nerves and his stomach: an order! But his superior is in no condition to give orders. Orders were apparently the first thing to flee the country…

 “It is a risk to tell the story of this highly dramatic night in comedy form. But it is a brilliantly mastered risk.” – Film Dienst

“The movie walks a fine line between story, comedy and drama and it succeeds across the board. It is a great movie that will stay in your memory.” – Sofahelden.com

“A heroic play for the anniversary from an unusual perspective, funny and light instead of pathetic and heavy. Wonderfully absurd dialogues, a gripping production and a great ensemble.” – Tittelbach.tv