Sönke Wortmann

Born 1959, Marl (Germany). An active football player, Wortmann rose to Germany 1st Division. He attended Munich’s Academy for Television & Film (HFF/M) and then London’s Royal College of Art. His graduation film DREI D (1988) was nominated for a Student Oscar in 1990. In 1992 he received the German Film Award for LITTLE SHARKS. With 6.5m viewers, his prize-winning comedy MAYBE, MAYBE NOT was one of the most successful German movies ever. He has also directed stage plays and begun producing films, as well as writing and directing.

Director’s statement

“There are two events in German post-war history for which people still exactly remember where they were on this day: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and Germany’s surprising victory at the football World Cup on 4th July 1954, better known as THE MIRACLE OF BERN. This victory has become a myth, its makers have become legends: Sepp Herberger, Fritz Walter, Helmut Rahn, Toni Turek…3-2: Germany was the world champion, an entire nation jubilated. The victory becomes a kind of collective bliss, an encouraging corrective to the dark years of the Third Reich. The small joys and rebellions of the time are mirrored in the story of the Lubanski family. Counterbalancing the ordeal of the father returning from Soviet captivity are the first signs of the German economic miracle that was about to burst forth. At first, it was difficult to approach an event that is so deeply anchored in the collective memory of the Germans. But it turned out to be an exciting and very appealing task”.