DOKLeipzig Opens with Gorbachev, Herzog and Singer
It’s a scoop for the DOK Leipzig festival, edition 61 (!) to have “Meeting Gorbachev” as the opening film on the 29th of October.
And to have Werner Herzog present to talk about the film and attend screenings of
other works, that carry his signature.
In the proud press release it is written about the film:
“With “Meeting Gorbachev”, Werner Herzog and André Singer have painted a human portrait of one of the most important politicians of the past century. Who is the man that brought the Cold War to an end? Through Mikhail Gorbachev, the world changed significantly and yet he remains a great enigma as a human being. From his humble beginnings as the son of a farmer, Gorbachev worked his way up to the post of President of the Soviet Union and shook the nation to its foundations in a time where there appeared to be no resolution to the conflict between East and West. In the film, Herzog and Gorbachev sit together in the former’s Moscow office, engaging in intense conversations about the past and the winding path of history. Time and again their attention returns to the reunification of Germany. The two men treat the difficulties and successes that the former President of the USSR was met with during his tenure. Gorbachev also speaks very openly about the mistakes that he made at the time, about decisions that he might approach differently from today’s perspective. However, the film also deals with the present and future as well, treating questions like: Why is the political situation in both the USA and Russia so difficult at the moment? “Meeting Gorbachev” aims to provide answers for the generations that witnessed and experienced Gorbachev’s policies and their effects first-hand, but also for young individuals who now find themselves living in another reality and are only familiar with the Cold War from history books and stories…”