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Der Kontrolleur

The Border Guard
Retrospective 2026
© Filmuniversität / Uwe Mann
Hermann, a middle-aged widower, was a border guard in East Germany, and has never accepted that the frontier no longer exists. Dubbing himself the “last of the Mohicans”, he continues to report for duty at an abandoned border crossing. Arriving punctually every day, he battles (in vain) the weeds that sprout up through the concrete and assiduously keeps a log of his observations. When Inge, a curious waitress, gets a little too close to the deluded loner, Hermann reacts aggressively to the violation of his private frontier, following a deeply internalised order to shoot.
The jury at the 1995 film festival in Ludwigsburg called Stefan Trampe’s debut film “an impressively detailed study of emotional anxiety and obsession”, awarding it best narrative feature. Trampe, a graduate of the Konrad Wolf film school, cast several stars of the former East German film studio DEFA in his psychological portrait of a fanatical border guard. It illuminated a lost place in the history of the German-German divide. Visually, images of the derelict border station provide a stark contrast to Hermann’s personal memories, which evoke an almost erotic, idyllic border regime. 
by Stefan Trampe (Director, Screenplay), Uwe Mann (Screenplay)
with Hermann Beyer, Ulrike Krumbiegel, Eugen Krößner, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Michael Gwisdek, Jérôme Fink, Linn Hirschke, Juliane Zöllner, Regine Seidler, Thomas Wendrich Germany 1995 German 62' Colour

With

  • Hermann Beyer
  • Ulrike Krumbiegel
  • Eugen Krößner
  • Hans-Uwe Bauer
  • Michael Gwisdek
  • Jérôme Fink
  • Linn Hirschke
  • Juliane Zöllner
  • Regine Seidler
  • Thomas Wendrich

Crew

Director Stefan Trampe
Screenplay Uwe Mann, Stefan Trampe
Cinematography Uwe Mann
Editing Karin Geiß
Music Thomas Klemm
Sound Design Ronald Gohlke
Costumes Regina Viertel
Make-Up Bettina Schallock
Producer Robert Ganzke

Additional information

35mm print: Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Potsdam

Photos