Contergan

Side Effects

In 1958, a new sleeping pill called Thalidomide is put on the market. Claiming to have no side-effects, it enjoys a tremendous success. Suffering from sleep disorders during her pregnancy, Vera Wegener, whose husband Paul is a lawyer, is prescribed a sedative. A few months later, their daughter, Katrin, is born without arms and only one leg. Having noticed the increase of deformed newborn babies since the introduction of Thalidomide, Dr. Lange contacts the Wegeners. Vera convinces Paul to take the case to court, while she struggles to give their daughter a normal life. After several years of vain combat, their marriage comes apart. When Vera learns that her husband has accepted a compromise settlement, she leaves him. But one Christmas Eve, she pays him a surprise visit with Katrin, who is now 12 years old: realizing that the Thalidomide tragedy can only be overcome individually, and not through medecine or the law, she is reconciled with him.

Germany - 2007 - 2 x 1 h 28 mn - Super 16 - Colour

Director
Adolf Winkelmann
Script
Benedikt Röskau
Camera
David Slama
Sound
Ed Cantu
Editing
Rudi Heinen
Music
Hans Steingen
Cast
Benjamin Sadler, Katharina Wackernagel, Hans-Werner Meyer, Caroline Peters, Matthias Brandt, Bernd Stegemann

Production
Zeitsprung Entertainment GmbH,
Alter Militärring 8a,
50933 Cologne, Allemagne
Tél : +49 221 949 802 00
Fax : +49 221 949 802 36
E-mail : info@zeitsprung.de

Co-Production
WestDeutscher Rundfunk, Degeto Film (Munich), EOS Distribution Gmbh Eric Welbers

Sales
EOS Distribution Gmbh Eric Welbers,
Gruenwalder Weg 28D,
D-82041 Oberhaching, Allemagne
Fax : +49 89 6734 6920
E-mail : eric@eos-entertainment.com