Spaziergang nach Syrakus

A journey to Syracuse and back – that is Paul Gompitz’s dream. He wants to travel to Sicily and follow in the footsteps of the poet Johann Gottfried Seume. There is just one problem: it is 1982, and Paul lives in East Germany. Every attempt to obtain official permission to leave the country fails. A visit to his cousin? Membership in the League for Friendship Among Peoples? A study trip? All rejected!

What choice does he have? Paul must plan his escape. And what makes things even more complicated is that he wants to return home afterwards. Back to Rostock, to the Baltic Sea, and to his wife Anne. Paul devises a daring plan …

In SPAZIERGANG NACH SYRAKUS, director Lars Jessen tells a story of an irrepressible longing and great courage, of deep love and profound loyalty, and of the desire to see the world without losing one’s homeland.