1989
90 min. Documentary, 2014 D: Anders Østergaard, Erzsébet Rácz
1989 is a feature-length documentary by Oscar-nominated director Anders Østergaard, whose trademark is the ability to visualize the invisible and recreate the past to make it come alive before our very eyes. The film ventures deep into the high-risk political game that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Europe by visiting the secret rooms where political battles were fought and history made. The two central ‘witnesses’ are former Hungarian prime minister Miklós Németh, representing the macro political level, and Gundula, the surviving half of an East German couple who was the last to fatally attempt to cross the border, representing the individual, private level.
The narrative structure and the overall articulation of the film had to follow a fictional type of suspensional storytelling. The film uses a cutting edge approach to documentary recreation, which - interwoven with testimonials and archive material - forms a rich and cinematic tapestry of events.
1989 was the opening film at CPH:DOX film festival, won the ONDAS TV AWARD for "Best TV Production of the Year", the Prix Italia for best TV Documentary and the Carl Th. Dreyer Award; it was shown at more than 30 festivals and broadcasted on Arte TV.