Great Freedom

Second fiction feature film directed by Austrian filmmaker Sebastian Meise. Inspired by several true events, Meise portrays of gay men reality in the former West Germany after the end of World War II, recalling that the German government, under the supervision of the United States government, it did not abolish article 175 of the German penal code, which punished homosexual relations between men.

'Great Freedom' portrays three times that Hans Hoffmann (Franz Rogowski) entered prison for being homosexual. Set in 1945, 1957 and 1968. In his first admission to prison, Hans sees how he goes from being a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp to being in jail. There he meets Viktor Bix (Georg Friedrich), who becomes his cellmate and is in prison for killing his wife's lover.

Over several years, through the three imprisonments that Hans suffers, a love relationship will emerge between the two men in an environment as hostile as that, in which there is no room for affection or understanding.

Directed and written by Sebastian Meise, 'Great Freedom' stars Franz Rogowski, Georg Friedrich, Anton von Luke and Thomas Prenn. Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival; Best picture award and Best actor award for Franz Rogowski at the 18th Seville Film Festival; Awards for best photography and best music at the 34th European Film Awards (EFA) and it was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, and on 22 December 2021, it was shortlisted for the award ceremony