Verbotene Liebe

Romeo and Juliet in the GDR! Julia Brendler in her first leading role based on Shakespearean motifs gives authentic insights into family life in the GDR in the 1980s: Eighteen-year-old high school student Georg (Hans-Peter Dahm) is on trial for sexually abusing a thirteen-year-old. Barbara (Brendler) and he have known each other since childhood. They grew up together as neighbors. The parental homes are enemies with each other, the children love each other. For Barbara's father, the relationship between the two is a welcome opportunity to file a criminal complaint against the neighbor. The trial cannot be prevented, but the love of the two, which is forbidden by law, seems stronger than all external resistance. The director Helmut Dziuba, who specializes in youth issues, also wrote the screenplay for 'Forbidden Love' and was only able to realize the film in 1989 - after much resistance.

The bonus film 'Banale Tage' (1992) by Peter Welz tells the story of the friendship of sixteen-year-old schoolboy Michael (Florian Lukas) and toolmaker's apprentice Thomas (Christian Kuchenbuch) in East Berlin in the 1970s. They want to escape the stench in their parents' home, school and workplace.