If Not Us, Who?

Andres Veiel : 2011
Wer wenn nicht wir

In the early 1960s, Bernward Vesper and fellow university student Gudrun Ensslin begin a passionate love affair in the stifling atmosphere of provincial West Germany. Sensitive to the increasing restlessness of the times, the fiery couple lash out at the denial regarding their fathers' roles in Hitler's Third Reich. The war has only been over for fifteen years, old Nazis are back in positions of power, and nobody is prepared to talk about war crimes. It is a time of social and political upheaval, with liberation movements, student protests and the Black Panther movement in the USA. Dedicated to the power of the written word, Bernward and Gudrun found a publishing house for controversial political works and become part of the spreading global uprising "If not us, who; If not now, when?" But discontentment with the world takes its toll on their tumultuous relationship. By the late sixties, Gudrun has joined rebellious Andreas Baader's pro-violence cause and Bernward risks his sanity by using psychedelic drugs in his struggle to finally write the novel committed to changing the world. Based on the emotional, true story of an explosive era, Andres Veiel's debut feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2011.