Director Petra Epperlein left East Germany as soon as the Berlin Wall fell, but the rest of her family stayed behind. In this TIFF 2016 hit, she returns to her hometown for an astonishing and unprecedented peek into life behind the Iron Curtain. Formerly called Karl-Marx-Stadt or “Karl Marx City,” Epperlein ventures on a quest to find out the truth behind her father’s mysterious suicide and the rumours of his involvement with the secret police. Expertly presenting her intimate family story against the broader historical and political forces at play, the mechanisms of totalitarianism that produce paranoia and distrust are revealed.
Co-presented by Toronto Jewish Film Society, a program of the Miles Nadal JCC.