In postwar Germany Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Behind prison bars is the only place where he can seek love. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something called love. For 123 years, Paragraph 175 criminalized homosexuals. Those convicted were sentenced to prison terms of up to ten years. During the postwar years 100,000 men were brought to trial in West Germany alone.
"Our main character, Hans, exemplifies the many fates of men who ended up in prison over and over again, whose lives and relationships were destroyed, and whose stories disappeared in the files of bureaucracy. Hans’ story is told based on his imprisonments. The walls and bars become a recurring constant that turns into a never-ending time loop. Hans can’t stop being who he is. He needs to continue because love is the essence of human nature. His very existence is rebellion." (Sebastian Meise)
Sebastian Meise
Born in 1976 in Kitzbühel, Austria, Meise studied directing at the Vienna Film Academy. His shorts, Prises de vues, Random and Dämonen, screened at several European film festivals. His first features, Still Life and Outing, dealt with the topic of paedophilia. He co-founded the Vienna-based FreibeuterFilm which produces his films.