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PRODUCTION TEAM
Director :
Roland Suso Richter
Script :
Johannes W. Betz
Photography :
Martin Langer
Editor :
Peter R. Adam
Cast :
Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Sebastian Koch, Mehmet Kurtulus, Felix Eitner, Claudia Michelsen
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THE TUNNEL
The Berlin Wall inspired many daring escapes. This is the true story of one of them. We are in 1961 and the Communist government of East Germany has begun construction of the Wall. East German swimming champion Harry Melchior is suffocating under the repressive regime. Harry's best friend Matthis, accompanied by his pregnant girlfriend Carola, attempts an escape through the subterranean maze of sewer tunnels. In the darkness, Matthis loses contact with Carola. He emerges heartbroken in West Berlin; she is arrested by East German soldiers. Harry also wants out but his sister Lotte fears that an escape attempt would be too dangerous for her young daughter, and her husband Theo has a good job. Harry reluctantly leaves her behind. Once safely in the West, Harry joins up with Matthis and two other activist friends, Vic and Fred, and outlines a daring plan to bring the rest of Harry's family out from the East: build a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. The others laugh off the idea as insane but Harry is obsessed. He won't take no for an answer. Finally, the others agree. They rent an abandoned building adjacent to the Wall. But digging the 145-metre tunnel isn't their only problem. Carola is in jail and the Stasi (East German secret police) have blackmailed her into spying on Lotte. Then there is the lack of money. Chancing upon an NBC film team shooting scenes with a fake "Wall", Vic takes the risk of asking their help in return for actual footage of the digging and escape. The plan proceeds...
Roland Suso Richter
Born in Marburg, Germany in 1961, Roland Suso Richter studied acting and apprenticed as a cameraman, editor and production manager before directing his first short, �berfl�ssig, in 1982. His filmography includes: KOLP (1983), NUR FRAUEN, KEIN LEBEN (1985), MITTSOMMERNACHT (1993), SVEN'S SECRET (1994), ONE STEP AHEAD (1994), DEATH A LA CARTE (1995), BUDDIES (1996), 14 DAYS TO LIFE (1997), SARA AMERIKA (1997), THE BUBI SCHOLZ STORY (1997), AFTER THE TRUTH (1998) and A HANDFUL OF GRASS, which was in last year's official competition at the Montreal World Film Festival.
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