This German drama was directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, a director best known for writing and directing the 2006 Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others and 2010's flop The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. This film — which debuted at the 75th Venice International Film Festival — was inspired by the life of German visual artist Gerhard Richter and his mentor, following an art student in postwar East Germany who falls in love with a fellow student (and whose disapproving father, Carl, may also be involved in the Nazi eugenics program).
Sebastian Koch — who starred in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and previously worked with Donnersmarck in The Lives of Others — plays Carl alongside German actors Tom Schilling and Paula Beer, and interestingly enough, artist Richter is not too happy about the whole thing.