Solo Sunny

Sunny lives in the decaying neighbourhood of Prenzlauer Berg. All decked out as a pop star, she and her band play small gigs in East Germany’s bars and community centres. She dreams of a solo career, but her reality is stubbornly unglamorous. The neighbours are disturbed by her lifestyle; men don’t live up to her expectations; audiences are narrow-minded, and the band finally throws her out. But Sunny doesn’t give up … In Solo Sunny, the pursuit of happiness collides with an obdurate society. This final film by Konrad Wolf (1925–1982) was his biggest box-office hit. It struck a chord with audiences in both East and West Germany. Wolf believed that was because it “addressed a creeping inhumanity in daily life”. Solo Sunny was co-directed by famed screenwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase, known for his Berlin films. He knew the singer Sanije Torka, whose life was the foundation of the Sunny character. Renate Krössner received the Silver Bear at the 1980 Berlinale for her portrayal of the self-assured outsider.
The world premiere of the digitally-restored 4K marks the start of Konrad Wolf Year in honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth.