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BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF EAST GERMANY'S LAST EXECUTION

East Berlin, 1981. An idealist trapped by the Stasi.

The young scientist Dr. Franz Walter believes that his luck is made. Walter is offered a coveted professorship after completing his doctorate at the Humboldt University in Berlin. To further cement his career path, a luxurious apartment in the center of East Berlin is also included. But in reality, this is just a way for the STASI, East Germany's Ministry of State Security, to get its hands on him. Walter plays along at first. Soon, however, the results of his work begin to take their toll on his mental and physical health. Step by step, he is driven to desperate measures in an attempt to escape.

A true-life drama based on the life of Werner Teske. The story shows the tragic consequences of the paranoid and violent surveillance society that was built in East Germany and the other countries behind the Iron Curtain in the latter half of the twentieth century. Teske was the last man to be executed in East Germany before the death penalty was abolished in 1987.

Screenwriter and director Franziska Stünkel has received numerous awards for her films and her work as a photographic artist. Among her most notable projects is the giant production Der Tag der Norddeutsche . The 18-hour documentary depicts the lives of 121 people over the course of one day. The film was made with the help of a team of 400 people who filmed a total of 700 hours of material on May 11, 2012. An even more powerful commitment lies behind Up close. Stünkel wrote her script after a somewhat overwhelming nine years of historical research and archival studies. Her aim with the film is to highlight a macabre historical fact, unknown to many today. That the death penalty was imposed and carried out in the GDR. More facts about this can be read on the film's (German-language) website, which you can find here .

WINNER – BEST SCREENPLAY – NEW GERMAN CINEMA

* * * * " Heartbreaking. Time machine back to the surveillance tyranny of the GDR " – DN
* * * * " Greatness depends on Eidinger's strong and credible interpretation of the role " – DN
* * * * “ A depiction that is felt right to the core ” – Kulturbloggen

" Skillful depiction of life in a dictatorship " - Aftonbladet
" Sucking thriller with a real-life background " - The Municipal Worker
“ Stylish, with impeccable scenography ” – Sydsvenskan

* * * * * “ Engaging mix of political drama and psychological thriller ” – Film starts
* * * * * “ Exquisitely executed and emotionally charged ” – Cinemacritics
“ Exciting and soberly told ” – Weekend Notes