Cowboys And Communists - A Documentary

Cowboys And Communists

At a corner restaurant in the heart of East Berlin, the lives of a die-hard Communist and an American Cowboy collide. Cowboys and Communists is the story of two clashing political systems, the reality of life behind the Berlin wall, the collapse and aftermath of Communism, the tragedy of Bush’s America and the difference between Sauerkraut and cheeseburgers.

The Cowboy is Wally Potts. He’s an artist and chef from LA who escaped America to start something new and he now owns one of the most successful restaurants in Berlin. He’s living out his American Dream in Germany.

The Communist is Horst Woitalla. Horst believed in Communism with all his heart and his very sharp mind. The day the wall fell was the worst day of his life. And you can’t help but feel for him – he lost everything he ever knew over night.

The lives of these two men collide when Wally opens a late night burlesque burger bar, ‘White Trash Fast Food’ in the bottom floor of an East Berlin apartment block where Horst has lived since the Communist era.

Horst is determined to take back some of his power and close down ‘White Trash Fast Food’. Wally meanwhile, vies to fight to protect his new-found freedom.

At first it seems like Wally and Horst couldn’t be more different, but over the course of the film you’ll realise that in fact they have a lot of similarities. They are both working class people fighting for their place in a community and a sense of freedom in a system they have no control over.

Cowboys and Communists Screens Tuesday 31 July at 12:15 and 1:45 Film Archive. Panel Discussion "Keeping it real" Wednesday 1 August, paramount bergman 12:15pm. Free.

www.myspace.com/cowboysandcommunists

ENDS

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