What if pretending to be a dictator could save your family? Chaos ensues in '89 East Germany.
A stage actor's turn as GDR leader Erich Honecker inspires an outlandish scheme to keep his daughter safe during the Leipzig protests of 1989.
Acting
Jörg Schüttauf's deadpan Honecker impression steals every scene.
Production
Incredible period detail captures late-GDR decay and paranoia.
Director
Franziska Meletzky
Jörg Schüttauf
Otto Wolf
Josefine Preuß
Anne Wolf
Jacob Matschenz
August
Hedi Kriegeskotte
Margot Honecker
Marc Benjamin
Matti Stein
Devid Striesow
Harry Stein
Steffen Scheumann
Boris Kelm
André Jung
Hans Götze / Erich Mielke
Alexander Schubert
Egbert Rauch / Egon Krenz
Stephan Grossmann
Theodor Dombrich
Samia Chancrin
Birgit Müller
Tom Keune
Wolf-Dieter Seifert
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title 'Vorwärts immer!' parodies Honecker's actual slogan 'Vorwärts immer, rückwärts nimmer' (Ever forward, never backward), which became bitterly ironic as the GDR collapsed.
Director Franziska Meletzky grew up in East Germany and insisted on filming in actual Leipzig locations where the 1989 protests occurred, including the St. Nicholas Church.
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