BLACK BOX BRD

This prize winning documentary by German filmmaker Andres Veiel takes a look back at the political climate in Federal Republic of Germany during the 70s and 80s. During this time the government was waging an internal war against the left wing movement known as the Red Army Fraction (RAF). Veiel focuses on the life and death of two people from opposite poles of the debate. The first, Alfred Herrhausen, a man of considerable power and influence, was killed by an RAF bomb attack. The second, Wolfgang Grams, a radical activist implicated in Herrhausen’s murder, was shot by police four years later.

There are many unanswered questions and issues to address. Grams’ death was listed as suicide yet he was killed by a shot to the back of the head. Herrhausen was a radical and unorthodox businessman, actively engaged in campaigning for the environment. Surprisingly, underlying similarities between the two men are highlighted throughout the film. Through interviews with colleagues, family and friends of both men the painful truth emerges. Each side remains uncomprehending of the other, revealing deep scars from the past and war-wounds that have never truly healed.

“I didn’t want to make a lesson from a closed chapter of the history books. Black Box BRD is a film about the present“. Andres Veiel

Awards: Hessischer Filmpreis 2001; Bayerischer Filmpreis 2001; Europäischer Filmpreis 2001; Dokumentarfilm des Jahres, Evangelische Jury 2001; Deutscher Filmpreis 2002

http://www.black-box-brd.de