Introduction
Whispers of Freedom is a historical biopic drama film set in 1980s East Berlin – the twilight years of the Cold War. The film is based on the tragic true story of Chris Gueffroy, one of the last to attempt an escape across the Berlin Wall.
Written and directed by me, Brandon Ashplant, I co-produced the film with Academy Award® nominee Jonathan Tammuz. We were supported by a team of Executive Producers consisting of Gordon Freiherr von Godin, Stefan Wolle, Sören Marotz, Stephen Ainsworth and Stephen Collas. The film was produced by Golden Goat Films and financially supported
by the DDR Museum and Guernsey Arts.
The driving force behind producing the film and bringing Chris’s story to the screen was a sense that the collective memory of the Cold War is rapidly fading. With Whispers of Freedom, I wanted to remind audiences born in the decades since the Wall came down about the horrors that took place in the heart of Europe, no more than 35 years ago.
Inspiration
As someone born in the late 1990s, it dawned on me that many of my peers appear to have a limited understanding of this dark but incredibly influential chapter of our shared recent modern European history. Events that took place on our continent just prior to the turn of the century seem to be considered ancient history. They were recent and recent enough to have a direct connection to ongoing current affairs.
I began reading around the topic, and was curious about life behind the infamous “Iron Curtain”, as Churchill so aptly described it in 1946, upon recognising that the Soviet Union, under the pretence of ensuring its own security, was carving out a sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe. Here, one can already find a clear through line from modern history to modern geopolitics, with the Russian Federation of today deploying not so dissimilar rhetoric – and following it up with action – in and against Eastern Europe, with particular focus on Ukraine, which has tragically endured the brunt of this for many years now.
Having made my way through key works such as Stasiland by Anna Funder, and several others, I came across Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer. Hoyer’s book explores East Germany (the GDR) through a socio-economic lens. In doing so, she ditches the cliches and usual plotlines, which tend to focus on spies and informants, which dominate so much of the literature which explores the GDR. I was fascinated.
As time went on, I did my own personal research and came across a list of known victims at the Berlin Wall. Chris was near the bottom. I dug a little deeper to find that Chris’s attempted escape took place just nine months before the Wall would crumble into history. I found myself with a burning desire to tell his story.
The Process
Having done some reading around Chris, I reached out to several organisations – including the Berlin Wall Foundation. I came into contact with the incredibly helpful Dr Sarah Bornhorst, who heads up the biographical unit at the Foundation. If I were serious about telling Chris’s story, then before I put pen to paper, I had to receive the blessing of Chris’s mother, Karin, who still resides in Berlin today. Dr Bornhorst reliably informed me that although Karin did not wish to be involved in the project, she would agree to let us make the film. A huge hurdle had been overcome with this prerequisite; it had morally greenlit preproduction on what would become Whispers of Freedom. Without the ability to interview Karin, I had to roll up my sleeves and do my homework. I was incredibly fortunate to receive the support and involvement of the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, and the DDR Museum – the latter of which came on board as financial sponsors, and has subsequently negotiated the indefinite right to screen the film at the Museum’s cinema. A fitting home for the film, upon the culmination of its international festival circuit journey.
With key research and input from leading authorities on the subject, the script was written. At the proofing stage, it dawned on me that this world I was attempting to recreate on screen had so far only lived in my head and through the prism of academia. I felt that the worldbuilding aspect of the project was lacking. At this juncture, I decided to reach out to Katja Hoyer, the acclaimed historian and bestselling author of Beyond the Wall – a book I had read as aforementioned. Hoyer injected a much-needed sense of grounded everyday realism into the script, and it was scoped out further to reflect the nuances of the lived experience for the everyday person in the GDR.
We cast the film in February 2024 and shot 90% of principal photography by April. Production overwhelmingly took place on the island of Guernsey, which has seen a burgeoning film scene mushroom seemingly out of nowhere in recent years. The island is a hotbed of talent, both in front of and behind the camera.
At first glance, one could be forgiven for thinking it might be hard to recreate the former GDR in the sunny Channel Island of Guernsey, but we focused on key interior scenes – including recreating the Gueffroy family apartment by transforming an old cottage on the West Coast of Guernsey into something that resembled an old plattenbau tower block We also had the joy of attempting to recreate a section of the Berlin Wall’s infamous death strip. It was vital that we got this right. Lack of historical authenticity and believability would threaten to pull the audience out of the pivotal moment in the narrative in which it appears on screen. We worked with Guernsey Water, who were incredibly accommodating, to set dress part of a water treatment plant with Czech hedgehogs, fake barbed wire, and trip wire. Quite the experience.
We completed the remaining 10% or so of production in Berlin in July 2024. We worked with the relevant authorities to close key segments of the former East of the city, including the Karl-Marx-Allee – the main drag of East Berlin. We also shot where Chris lived in Baumschulenweg – including outside his school, his apartment home, and other locations.
Our production driver, Thomas Schmidt, very kindly took us to Chris’s graves, so our Berlin Unit of cast and crew could pay their respects. It was a moving moment, but it reaffirmed our purpose and commitment to doing Chris’s story justice. I had the honour of working with some incredibly talented actors on Whispers of Freedom.
The key cast includes Cameron Ashplant (The Last Bus), Wendy Makkena (Sister Act), Darragh Cowley (Masters of the Air), and Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark), with the voices of Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) and Thomas W. Gabrielsson (The Promised Land). This is my second outing as a writer-director, so to be given the opportunity to work with talent at this level was a real privilege.
Final Thoughts
It’s been one of the absolute privileges of my life to be at the helm of Whispers of Freedom. I’ve had the opportunity to work with talent from across the globe, and was trusted with telling such an important human story.
Chris Gueffroy wasn’t just another statistic in a long list of victims brutally gunned down at the Berlin Wall; he was a young man with dreams and aspirations. For this, he had to break free from the bondage that tied him to a totalitarian state. An executable offence, as it turned out. He simply wanted what every human being deserves – and what we too often take for granted, I think – the freedom to choose what one does with one’s life. Chris longed to travel the world, become an actor and obtain a pilot’s license. However, he was born and grew up in the GDR; a state that forbade its citizens from travelling, that imposed opportunity-limiting sanctions on a person who refused to do exactly as the state demanded.
The experiment of the Eastern bloc, and the GDR as part of that, should be a cause for concern. It was constructed with positive intentions – to create a utopia! But that rapidly devolved into a hellish police state of political violence and intimidation. History shows us time and again, the road to hell is paved in gold. We tend to forget that no villain of history ever views themselves as “the baddie”, and so we ought to be vigilant of those who proclaim the absolute moral high ground from a position of dogmatic ideology – just as the leaders of the GDR did so regularly. They convinced themselves that what they were doing was not just acceptable, but morally right. They believed that they were on the right side of history and undertaking the correct course of action.
Thank you to every member of the (148!) cast and crew who were involved in bringing Chris’s story to the screen. Thanks to the DDR Museum and Guernsey Arts for their support, and for trusting me and the team at Golden Goat Films to produce a film of this magnitude and historical significance.
What It Means to Be a Finalist
The whole team and I were incredibly excited when we learned back in July that we would be travelling to Worcester Film Festival to screen Whispers of Freedom. To then find out that the film has been selected as a finalist, nominated for the Best Production Designer award, was the icing on the cake.
Our Production Designer, Stephen Bream, is incredibly talented and committed to his craft. It is no wonder, then, that he is very well-regarded within the film industry. Bream’s previous work includes working as Art Director/Production Designer on such films as Mission: Impossible III and V for Vendetta. He’s no stranger to awards, having been nominated for an Emmy, amongst others. That said, it’s fantastic to see him recognised for his work on Whispers of Freedom. (It also represents the first award nomination the film has received thus far in a craft category!)
Where to Watch / Follow
Following its completion on the festival circuit, Whispers of Freedom will be regularly screened at the DDR Museum in Berlin. A fitting home for the film. Shortly after Worcester Film Festival, the team and I will be travelling to Berlin for the German Premiere on Thursday, 2nd October at the Museum – an inaugural screening to coincide with the 35th anniversary of German Unity Day. German Unity Day is a public holiday in Germany, celebrated every year on the 3rd to commemorate the GDR joining with West Germany.
Follow @goldengoatfilms on Instagram, Facebook and X for updates on Whispers of Freedom.
You can find me personally on Instagram and X @brandonashplant
