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The German Film Office is pleased to present the Swiss-German co-production Caged Birds by Oliver Rihs as its German Movie Night selection for February. The film will be available to stream across the United States.

Barbara “Babs” Hug (Marie Leuenberger, The Divine Order) is a young radical lawyer fighting Switzerland’s antiquated prison system in the 1980s. She is tracked down by Walter Stürm (Joel Basman, As We Were Dreaming), a Foucault-reading convict who has just managed to escape from prison – again. With the police closing in, Babs finds Walter temporary refuge with a militant organization, and takes him on as a client in hopes of using the Jailbreak King’s publicity to advance her cause. But the less Walter yields to her reasoning, the more she falls for the fascination of his uncompromising idea of freedom. Based on a true story.

“Caged Birds could have easily slipped into neo-noir clichés, yet it successfully avoids empty platitudes. Its cinematography is very elegant, with grainy images, somber silhouettes, and inventive angles throughout. The performances are heartfelt and convincing. Ultimately, this is the perfect balance between a crime caper, political thriller and philosophical essay.” (Victor Fraga, Dirty Movies)

Bis wir tot sind oder frei
Dir. Oliver Rihs
With Marie Leuenberger, Joel Basman, Jella Haase
Switzerland/Germany, 2020
119 minutes

A Corinth Films release