So Why Make a Film About These People?

The year was 1980 when a student at East Germany's College of Film and Television embarked on capturing the lives of three young men in an intimate and unassuming documentary. Shot on black-and-white reversal film over the Easter break, this would be the only film the student completed during their time at the college. Despite its seemingly innocent premise—depicting a mother and her sons enjoying coffee and cake while recollecting their encounters with the police—the film was swiftly banned from public screening.The reason for the ban lay in the unorthodox portrayal of these young men, who, far from being driven by ideology, casually accepted their petty criminal careers as a matter of fact. In capturing and showcasing this reality, the student filmmaker tacitly endorsed their way of life, sparking controversy and prompting the authorities to censor the work.The documentary remained stored away until the end of 1989, serving as an intriguing snapshot into a time and place where personal freedoms were tightly controlled. In its portrayal of these young men, it invites viewers to contemplate the complexities of human existence in the face of oppressive ideologies, offering a rare glimpse of life behind the Iron Curtain.