Christopher Eccleston & Thomas W. Gabrielsson Join ‘Whispers Of Freedom’ About Tragic True Story Of East Berlin Escape Attempt; Filming Wraps In Germany
EXCLUSIVE: BAFTA nominee and Emmy winner Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World) and Thomas W. Gabrielsson (A Royal Affair) have rounded out the cast of Cold War biopic Whispers of Freedom as production wraps in Berlin.
Set in 1980s East Berlin, the British-German co-production is based on the tragic true story of young East German Chris Gueffroy in the lead up to his attempted escape from the isolated Eastern bloc state. Gueffroy was the last person to be shot and the second-last to die in an escape attempt while trying to flee to the West across the Berlin Wall.
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Eccleston, best known for portraying the ninth incarnation of The Doctor in Doctor Who, and for playing Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, joins the cast to lend his voice as East German radio personality Herbert K?fer.
Swedish vet Gabrielsson, who most recently appeared opposite Mads Mikkelsen in The Promised Land, will play Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson.
Pic is written and directed by filmmaker Brandon Ashplant and produced by Jonathan Tammuz, an Oscar nominee for short Oscar nominee for 1989 short The Child Eater.
Previously announced cast includes Cameron Ashplant (The Last Bus) as Chris Gueffroy, Wendy Makkena (Sister Act) as Karin Gueffroy, Darragh Cowley (Masters of the Air) as Christian Gaudian, and Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark) as Erich Honecker.
Several leading German historians, authors, and institutions have lent their support to the film. Dr. Sarah Bornhorst (Berlin Wall Memorial) and Sabine Kuder (Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship) act as historical consultants, and Katja Hoyer (Beyond the Wall) is Lead Historical Adviser and Technical Consultant. Gordon Freiherr von Godin, Stefan Wolle and S?ren Marotz of the DDR Museum serve as executive producers.
Principal photography recently wrapped in Berlin, with production having taken place at key locations in the former east of the city, including Wedekindstra?e – the same Berlin street that Georg Dreyman lived in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others (2006). Prior to that, production largely took place in the UK.
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