Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Best Foreign Language Film Oscar®-winner for The Lives of Others) once again plows the fertile soil of communist East Germany, this time for an ambitious, gorgeously photographed drama about an artist (loosely based on Gerhard Richter) that begins during the Nazi period and spans decades. Right from the start — when gifted soon-to-be artist Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) is seen as an eight-year-old visiting the touring Nazi exhibition of “degenerate art” with his aunt — Henckel von Donnersmarck signals that he will be dealing with the grand themes of history, art, and politics, and how they are intricately intertwined. As Kurt becomes the protégé of a Joseph Beuys-like figure at art college, and life under the GDR’s communist regime takes its toll on Kurt and his loved ones, questions of artistic and moral integrity in the face of tyranny make for deeply affecting, soul-stirring filmmaking.

In competition for the FIPRESCI Award.

Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck