Westler
1985 / Germany / drama
Director: Wieland Speck
Starring: Rainer Strecker, Sigurd Rachman, Sasha Kogo, Frank Redless
German, with English and Lithuanian subtitles, 96 min
The screening is a part of the Deep Rivers Run Silent series, coordinated by Meno avilys, and starts Vilnius Pride 2023 programme.
Berlin in the mid-eighties. Felix from the west and Thomas from the east of the city only live a few kilometres apart from each other – but still in completely different worlds. Between them lies the Berlin Wall, they can only see each other once a week for a few hours. As their love grows, each forced separation becomes more and more painful. Ultimately, Thomas only sees one solution – to escape into the West.
“Westler” is a film about love in a time when the Berlin Wall separated friends, families and couples from each other. The love story between two Berliners from both sides of the Wall offered unprecedented insight into the eastern part of the city, where it was shot with a hidden camera.
The film is presented to mark the 30th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Lithuania. It will be introduced by the Lithuanian queer archive “išgirsti”.
June 28, 2023, 9.30 PM
“Patiltė”, under Liubartas bridge, Vilnius