Butterflies in Berlin – Diary of a Soul Split in Two

Alex moved to Berlin in 1932, during the Weimar Republic. In search of his place in the world and his sexual identity, he became the first surgical transsexual in history. Unfortunately, it happened during the rise of National Socialism, a societal upheaval that turned the capital of sexual freedom into the most oppressed country of all time. A story inspired by real events during the rise of the Nazis. Searching for his place in the world and his sexual identity, Alex whose character is loosely based on Dora Richter, becomes the first to undergo male-to-female surgery in history helped by the Magnus Hirschfeld at his pioneering Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, first of its kind. The film opens with one of the symbolic places of the ‘new’ Berlin, the Holocaust Memorial in the Mitte district. A young journalist receives a diary with the story of Alex, a young transsexual who lived between the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. With a flashback, the viewer finds himself in the Weimar Republic. Alex arrives in the capital and is immediately fascinated by the lights, colours and shows that offer the streets and cabarets of the Berlin nightlife. Berlin’s iconic landmarks are Alexanderplatz and historic venues like the Wintergarten. Meet Dr Magnus Hirschfeld, a pioneer in the field of transsexualism studies and founder of the Institut for Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Research). Thanks to the doctor, Alex becomes Alexandra and begins a life. All this, however, takes place while Adolf Hitler comes to power. The Fuhrer’s plan to eliminate the Jewish race and the “different” elements of society puts Alexandra at a moral crossroads and to “come to terms with its roots and its sense of responsibility to save lives”.

Keywords

• Creatives: Debut Films
• Love+: Sexuality
• Politics: Human Rights
• Berlin
• biopic
• fear
• history
• identity
• national socialism

Actors

• Dario Penne
• Myra Eetgerink

Director

• Monica Manganelli