German artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.

Young artist Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) has fled to West Germany but continues to be tormented by the experiences of his childhood and youth in the Nazi years and during the GDR-regime. When he meets student Ellie (Paula Beer), he is convinced that he has met the love of his life and starts to create paintings that mirror not only his own fate, but also the traumas of an entire generation.—Wiedemann & Berg Film

Inspired by real events and spanning three eras of German history, this Oscar-nominated film from The Lives of Others director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck tells the story of a young art student, Kurt (Schilling) who falls in love with fellow student, Ellie (Beer). Ellie's father, Professor Seeband (Koch), a famous doctor, is dismayed at his daughter's choice of boyfriend, and vows to destroy the relationship. What neither of them knows is that their lives are already connected through a terrible crime Seeband committed decades ago.