Der Tunnel (The Tunnel)

Berlin, 1961. Harry Melchior, the East German swimming champion, succeeds in escaping to West Berlin with a disguise and false papers. There he meets his best friend Matthis, who was forced to leave Carola, his pregnant girl-friend, behind during his own escape. Unable to handle the haunting loss of his sister he left in East Berlin, Harry comes up with the crazy idea to build a tunnel under the Berlin Wall to rescue the two girls. Together with Matthis and two of his idealistic friends, he rents an old abandoned factory adjacent to the Wall. The digging begins. Colonel Krüger of the East Berlin’s State Security puts pressure on Carola to inform him about the activities of Matthis. In need of financial assistance, Harry agrees to a clandestine deal with NBC in exchange for actual film footage of the digging and escape. After nine months, the 145-meter tunnel is ready. But Krüger has his informants … (press kit)