Balloon (2018)

**Balloon** (German: *Ballon*) is a German thriller drama film directed by Michael Herbig that was released in German cinemas on 27 September 2018. The film depicts the crossing of the Inner German border by the Strelzyk and Wetzel families from the GDR to West Germany with a self-made hot-air balloon in 1979. The two families, including four children, successfully floated across the sky from Pößneck, Thuringia to Naila, Bavaria, then situated 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) south of the Iron Curtain. They reached a height of 2,500 meters (8,200 ft.) in the homemade balloon.

Before making the film, Herbig was allowed to inspect the thousands of pages thick file about the balloon flight belonging to the Stasi, the former secret service of the GDR. However, the film is generally seen as a thrilling action film and, according to some reviewers, lacks historical depth. Another film about the successful escape was released by Disney in 1982, during the Cold War, under the title *Night Crossing*.

## Shooting

* Filming was from September 18th, 2017 - November 24th, 2017.

## Cast

* Friedrich Mücke - Peter Strelzyk
* Karoline Schuch - Doris Strelzyk
* David Kross - Günter Wetzel
* Alicia von Rittberg - Petra Wetzel
* Thomas Kretschmann - Oberstleutnant Seidel
* Jonas Holdenrieder - Frank Strelzyk
* Tilman Döbler - Andreas 'Fitscher' Strelzyk
* Christian Näthe - Hauptmann Heym
* Till Patz - Peterchen Wetzel
* Ben Teichmann - Andreas Wetzel
* Ronald Kukulies - Erik Baumann
* Emily Kusche - Klara Baumann
* Sebastian Hülk - Oberfeldwebel Lesch
* Gernot Kunert - Oberstleutnant Schirra
* Ulrich Brandhoff - Oberstleutnat Tornow (as Ulrich Friedrich Brandhoff)
* Peter Trabner - Apotheker
* Bernd Michael Lade - Witzke (Oberst)
* Kai Ivo Baulitz - Strehle (Leutnant)
* Bernd Stegemann - Werner Meissner (SED-Kreisleiter)
* Antje Traue - Kindergärtnerin (Ulrike Piehl)
* Elisabeth Wasserscheid - Beate Baumann (as Eli Wasserscheid)
* Tilo Keiner - Diensthabender Offizier
* Peter Prager - Günter's Stiefvater
* Nadja Engel - Günter's Mutter
* Thomas Kress - Westpolizist (as Tom Kreß)
* Thomas Birnstiel - Westpolizist
* Cornelius Schwalm - Jörg Franke
* Franziska Theiner - Konsumfrau
* Susanne Pfeiffer
* Tim Williams - Amerikaner
* Christian Gaul - Rezeptionist
* Beate Kurecki - Textilverkäuferin
* Sebastian Schwarz - Kuhn
* Timur Bartels - Gefreiter Kenner
* Angelika Koppmann - Textilverkäuferin
* Sandra Lava - Helga
* Stefan Kaminsky - Parteigenosse
* Benjamin Jorns - Volkspolizist in Pößneck
* Thomas Chemnitz - Kriminaltechniker
* Jonas Laux - Pilot
* Jörn Hentschel - Joachim Breninek, Fluglehrer
* Andrea Benson - Angestellte US-Botschaft
* Geoffrey Rude - Angestellter US-Botschaft (as Geoffrey Nicholas Rude)
* Maja Milena Palzkill - Lena
* Henri Stephan - Petras Bruder

### Voices

* Kaspar Eichel - Erich Mielke (voice)
* Daniela Elhagh
* Angela Jacobi
* Shirin Lotze
* Julia Lowack
* Wolfgang Haas
* Uwe Kosubek
* Daniel Pietzuch
* Matthias Ransberger
* Gina Benussi
* Ben
* Josefina

**Rest of cast listed alphabetically:**

* David Altman - Parent (uncredited)
* Jakub Slodowicz - Kollektivjäger (uncredited)

### Archival footage

* Hans-Dietrich Genscher
* Helmut Kohl
* Helmut Schmidt
* Franz Josef Strauß