Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes in 2021, Sebastian Meise’s captivating prison drama explores the life, loves and struggles of a man repeatedly jailed under post-war Germany’s repressive anti-homosexual laws – and the connection he forms with his cellmate, serving life for murder.

West Germany, soon after the Second World War. Hans (Franz Rogowski) is in and out of jail for violating Paragraph 175, which outlaws the ‘unnatural sex act committed between persons of the male sex’. Hans finds a succession of lovers behind bars – but the heart of Great Freedom is the unexpected bond formed between Hans and his cellmate Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a murderer. Meise’s second feature (after 2011’s Still Life) is both a powerfully evocative period piece and a universal love story without boundaries – told with the help of two unforgettable central performances. 

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sebastian Meise and lead actor Franz Rogowski, hosted by ICA Head of Cinema Nico Marzano.

£11 Full, £10 Concessions, £5.50 Green/Blue Members

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