Private Project

The Berlin Waltz

Behind the Berlin Wall an artist and his wife are planning an unusual protest for freedom. When the dreaded STASI secret police discover them, their lives accelerate in a way they never imagined possible.

This slyly surreal film raises questions about who to trust in a totalitarian regime, messages from the unconscious and our desire to be free. Inspired by Hitchcock and Dali. Filmed in Berlin.

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Hinter der Berliner Mauer planen ein Künstler und seine Frau ihren ungewöhnlichen Protest für die Freiheit. Als die STASI-Geheimpolizei sie entdeckt, beschleunigt sich ihr Leben auf eine Weise, die sie nie für möglich gehalten hätten.

Dieser hinterhältig surreale Film wirft Fragen auf, wem man in einem totalitären Regime vertrauen kann, Botschaften aus dem Unbewussten und unseren Wunsch nach Freiheit. Inspiriert von Hitchcock und Dali. Gefilmt in Berlin.

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THE BERLIN WALTZ

We were standing by my window on the 14th floor
watching Berlin go by
people were tiny and we heard the squeal
of every train on the curve as they ride
down below in the dark
or the grey of day
past foraging ragamuffins
and up here on 14
I’m wondering why
the elevator has no odd numbered buttons

Oh the secret police at first lead the race
their methods are truly outstanding
eyes in the walls and ears in the doors
and everyone informing
news of my neighbor
or a loved one at home
the best man at his friend’s only wedding
but down in the dark
a mysterious spark
or maybe it was only poor grounding

Then one night we stood on the wall and sang
relations reformed and forming
for quite some time everything’s fine
we’re living instead of performing
who knows what it was
maybe nostalgia
vegan dreams of beef or mutton
and up here on 14
I’m wondering why
the elevator has no odd numbered buttons
up here on 14
I’m still wondering why
the elevator has no odd numbered buttons

Dance with me dance with me
dance with me now
dance with me again
dance with me dance with me
waltzing in Berlin

words & music by Lloyd Frost
© Blue Plazuela Music Inc

  • Lloyd Frost
    Director
    In Everyone's Eyes (en todas las miradas), The Sun Is Rising, In Everyone's Eyes - El ultimo!
  • Fine Schmidt
    Key Cast
    "the Aunt"
  • Thorolf Bergeler
    Key Cast
    "the Uncle"
  • Michael Beyer
    Key Cast
    "Stasi agent"
  • Lloyd Frost
    Key Cast
    "the nephew"
  • Lloyd Frost
    Writer
    In Everyone's Eyes (en todas las miradas), The Sun Is Rising, In Everyone's Eyes - El ultimo!
  • Lloyd Frost
    Producer
    In Everyone's Eyes (en todas las miradas), The Sun Is Rising, In Everyone's Eyes - El ultimo!
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Der Berliner Walzer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Surreal
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 19, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    8,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada, Germany
  • Language:
    German
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Lloyd Frost

Lloyd Frost is an Canadian filmmaker whose short films blend narrative and documentary genres. Themes have included totalitarian and authoritarian regimes - both past and present - and living with terrorism attacks. He presents his stories in a mostly gentle style.

His multiple award-winning 2013 film 'In Everyone's Eyes (en todas las miradas)' and the more pointed director’s cut 'In Everyone's Eyes – El ultimo! (2018) are poetic, slyly subversive looks at free speech and human rights in Cuba. 'The Sun Is Rising' (2015) asks if there is a key to talking about terrorism attacks. 'The Berlin Waltz' is his latest film.

Lloyd's's debut album ‘The Sun Is Rising & Other True Stories’ (2015) with genre-crossing tracks was released with a live performance at SAW Gallery, Ottawa and an exhibit of his film-related images at Vistek. He is presently working on his second album, which includes this film's theme song 'Berlin Waltz'. His travel stories and photographs have appeared in The Boston Globe, The Globe and Mail, The Sydney Morning Herald and other newspapers.

Lloyd received his medical degree from McGill University, and specialized in Psychiatry. He lives in Ottawa.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Give me absolute control / over every living soul” (Leonard Cohen, The Future) describes half the story of an authoritarian State. I’m also interested in how people cope when their words or actions can lead to calamity.

On one of my early visits to Berlin I stayed in the tallest apartment building constructed by the GDR during the years of the Berlin Wall. The concrete ceiling and walls isolated me from my neighbors but street sounds easily passed through the thin windows. I wondered - what had the original occupants heard and seen in those years?

At both the administrative headquarters and the secret Remand Prison in Berlin, exhibits show how the Stasi successfully spied not simply on its own citizens, but also had informers spy on friends and even family members. Then late one night in my GDR flat, as I listened to the S-Bahn from Alexanderplatz pass below, I wrote the title song 'Berlin Waltz'.

I was fortunate three friends of mine had lived in the divided Berlin and have an appreciation for those unusual years. Our locations ranged from period apartments to grand GDR monuments like the Tranenpalast - a checkpoint forbidden to all but a few East Berliners - and the metaphorical doorway for the characters in my film.