Opening 21 May 2015
Directed by:
Jean-Gabriel Périot
Writing credits:
Jean-Gabriel Périot
Director Jean-Gabriel Pérot uses 1960s German archival material to clarify the actions of a group of protestors which included the journalist Ulrike Meinhof, the lawyer Horst Mahler, the filmmaker Holger Meins and students Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader. Their work attracted other young people who were disillusioned by post-war German politics, which they judged to be “fascist.” Originally known as the Baader Meinhof Group, in 1977 they more or less became official as the Red Army Faction or RAF. Over the next 20 years their members (fewer than 100) were responsible for kidnapping, bank robberies, bombing and the murder of 34 people. Many of them also suffered a violent death or were sent to prison. The group officially disbanded in 1998.
This is especially interesting for viewers who lived through these hard times in Germany and remember names such as Benno Ohnesorg or Rudi Dutschke. It is also for people who research German history and want to learn more. This played at the 2015 Berlinale Film Festival and director Pérot discussed this, his first film, with the audience. He considered it helpful to tell the story from a French viewpoint. (Becky Tan)
