Leander Haussmann's A STASI COMEDY is ESPECIALLY VALUABLE
Munich, April 29, 2022
With Leander Haußmann's STASIKOMÖDIE, the successful director is now completing his GDR trilogy after the cinema successes SONNENALLEE and NVA. This time he dives into the bohemian atmosphere of Prenzlauer Berg at the time. Subtle, abysmal and full of charm, he tells a story about good and evil and everything in between, but above all a coming-of-age story and one about the discovery of love. A reminder of the GDR past and a mirror of the present.
Leander Haußmann's STASIKOMÖDIE has now been awarded the highest rating, ESPECIALLY VALUABLE, by the FBW jury ( German Film and Media Evaluation ). The justification states:
"A nostalgic rollercoaster ride of emotions through a life full of secrets, peppered with a good dose of self-mockery. Decades after the fall of the Wall, Ludger Fuchs decides, in the presence of his family, to look at his Stasi files from the GDR era. However, the meticulous documents of the State Security bring to light the past about the celebrated novelist, which shakes the family idyll. The crowning glory of the GDR trilogy by cult director Leander Haussmann draws on the full potential of entertainment cinema with a love of detail.
East Berlin, and yet the sun is shining - Leander Haußmann's STASIKOMÖDIE tells as a detail-loving, consistently strong spy comedy about the subcultures in East Berlin in the eighties that it's fun to remember and to immerse yourself in this past. Director Leander Haußmann makes it clear right at the beginning of the last part of his GDR trilogy (after SONNENALLEE and NVA) that in the area of tension between state security and resistance, each side gets its fat off. In doing so, the tightrope walk succeeds so that even a perfidious spying apparatus like the Stasi can be laughed at when its head Erich Mielke stages himself as the sun king. In the resistance, the non-conformists (Nikos) rack their brains all night long over the phrase "pearls before swine". The ensemble thrives on a web of grandiose acting performances from David Kross as the underground spy (“Mission: Immerse, Scout, Decompose”) and Jörg Schüttauf as his older self, a novelist who has to confront his past, from Henry Hübchen as smoky Stasi father figure, Detlev Buck as a street cop or Deleila Piasko as a hippie Amazon. And even with great ideas such as a remote-controlled traffic light switch, which becomes the ultimate moral test, Leander Haußmann's STASIKOMÖDIE offers entertainment at every turn. As in the two previous films, this one inspires with surprising twists, hidden allusions and a brilliant sing-along finale.” Immerse, explore, decompose”) and Jörg Schüttauf as his older self, a novelist who has to confront his past, Henry Hübchen as a smoky Stasi father figure, Detlev Buck as a street cop or Deleila Piasko as a hippie Amazon. And even with great ideas such as a remote-controlled traffic light switch, which becomes the ultimate moral test, Leander Haußmann's STASIKOMÖDIE offers entertainment at every turn.
For the feature film, the award-winning director and screenwriter has assembled a cast in front of the camera that is prominent and pointed right down to the supporting roles: David Kross and Jörg Schüttauf as the blue-eyed Stasi informer Ludger, Antonia Bill and Margarita Broich as the underestimated wife Corinna, Deleila Piasko as Hippie-Amazon Natalie, Henry Hübchen as a constantly smoking and sipping Stasi officer, Detlev Buck as an overambitious law enforcement officer in an east-west loop, Alexander Scheer as a drag queen and the love interest of bartender Karsten Speck , Tom Schilling as curious Mr. Dietrich and much more
Leander Haussmann's STASIKOMÖDIE is produced by Sebastian Werninger (UFA Fiction) and Herman Weigel. Christoph Müller (Constantin Film) acts as co-producer. Executive producers are Tobias Timme (UFA Fiction) and Matthias Adler (UFA Fiction). Executive producers are Nico Hofmann (UFA) and Martin Moszkowicz (Constantin Film), co-producer is Lydia Elmer. The film was funded by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Central German Media Fund MDM, the Film Fund FFA and the German Film Fund DFFF.
Theatrical release: May 19, 2022 distributed by Constantin Film
Actors: David Kross, Jörg Schüttauf, Antonia Bill, Deleila Piasko, Henry Hübchen, Matthias Mosbach, Christopher Nell, Karl Schaper, Eric Spiering, Margarita Broich, Tom Schilling, Detlev Buck, Steffi Kühnert, Uwe Dag Berlin, Bernd Stegemann, Robert Stadlober, Alexander Scheer, Karsten Speck and many more
Screenplay & Direction: Leander Haußmann
Producers: Sebastian Werninger, Herman Weigel
Co-Producer: Christoph Müller
Executive Producers: Tobias Timme, Matthias Adler
Executive Producer: Nico Hofmann, Martin Moszkowicz
Co-Producer: Lydia Elmer
