Brandenburg penitentiary 2001: Martin Schulz (Jörg Schüttauf) is released after 11 years of imprisonment. As a former citizen of the German Democratic Republic, he experienced the fall of the wall from his prison cell. Upon release, he receives the items in his possession at the time of his arrest: a blue East German identification card, an East German driver’s license, and a wallet full of East German money. Martin is full of hope when he returns home, but hardly recognizes East Berlin again. The “New Berlin” has already taken over and the “Old East Berlin” clings desperately to its last remaining traits. The eleven-year absence is like a time machine and Martin runs into one difficulty after another while finding his place in this “new” world.
Hannes Stöhr (born 1970) is a German film director and screenwriter. He studied Scriptwriting and Directing at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin from 1994 to 1999. In 2006 Stöhr was a Villa Aurora grant recipient and lived for six months in Los Angeles, California. Hannes speaks German, Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. Stöhr is member of the European Film academy, lectures film at Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin and the Goethe-Institute. He lives in Berlin.