The real life story of East German singer and writer Gerhard Gundermann and his struggles with music, life as a coal miner and his dealings with the secret police (STASI) of the GDR.

Timm Thyler is poor, but he laughs a lot and he looks so charming. One day, the world’s richest man makes the boy a dubious offer: if Timm agrees to sell him his laugh, he’ll win every bet he ever makes in the future.

Andreas Dresen’s adaptation of Clemens Meyer’s novel about a group of East German friends right after the fall of the Wall.