Synopsis
Filmmaker Jan Raiber sets out on a quest for his identity, seeking to connect eventually with his biological father. Many children living in patchwork families have to take this step at some point as long as this connection is missing. However, why is there no connection, who broke ties and why has this subject been kept under wraps? Jan begins to narrow down his search. His siblings, his parents and his grandparents have to face his plan and the fact that he records everything on film. The camera keeps him grounded and encourages him not to run away from the confrontation again. Now is the time to talk about it, not later, not some day. Jan’s brother is shocked to find out that he is only the half-brother, his grandparents are not sure whether the real father will like the news and his mother doesn’t want to be filmed. Jan finds himself at his procreator’s garden fence and doesn’t have the heart to go in. Old dreams and buried memories reemerge. Then he receives a letter from his mother that is supposed to shed light upon the past, yet causes even more confusion. The secret is disclosed and the film starts all over again. In order to unravel the past, Jan has to understand the circumstances during his mother’s youth, the relationship to her parents, the constant control and influence, the young couple’s situation in the GDR, the appearance of a new man – who has become Jan’s social father. So, what will happen? There hasn’t been a meeting with the biological father yet. What is to do now? Who might come to harm? Is it probably better to leave everything the way it is? Jan has to cut his way through a swamp of well-meant advices and restraints in order to get to the bottom of it. His mother takes responsibility and supports him. For her son she overcomes her fear and faces the confrontation with the individuals of a long suppressed past. This film is supposed to encourage. It demonstrates that shedding light upon suppressed secrets instead of taking the path of least resistance is worth the effort.
