Coming Out

After renting the movie, it is ready for viewing for 48 hours.

Language DE

Subtitle CHI, CZ, DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, KR, PT, RU

Genre Drama

Country GDR

Year 1989

Director Heiner Carow

Cast Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, Dirk Kummer, Michael Gwisdek, Werner Dissel

Production DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme

Length 113 minutes

FSK movie 12 years

Tanja and Philipp are two young East Berlin high school teachers who fall in love and eventually get engaged. Their life together, however, becomes complicated when Philipp embarks on a journey of sexual self-discovery after meeting the mysterious Matthias in a bar. Following an unforgettable night, Philipp begins leading a double life, wrestling with his suppressed desires until he eventually has to confront reality.

COMING OUT features many historic queer locations in East Berlin, including the bars Schoppenstube and Zum Burgfrieden in Prenzlauer Berg. One special moment in the film is a cameo appearance from the renowned trans activist Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Heiner Carow’s bold and daring film premiered on 9 November 1989 – the night the Berlin Wall fell – and remains the East German DEFA studio’s only film to explicitly address homosexuality.