Jacob Klaffke

Polizeiruf 110 is a long-running German language detective television series. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic Republic, and after the dissolution of Fernsehen der DDR the series was picked up by ARD. It was originally created as a counterpart to the West German series Tatort, and quickly became a public favorite.

The same situation is played out in different cities (New York, Berlin and Tokyo). A lover has to choose whether to commit to a partner who is returning home. In each case there are other people involved, an ex-partner and someone else in a "permanent" relationship, what do they choose to do?

Paula knows exactly what she wants to do after her studies. She wants to marry her long-term boyfriend Michael, start a family and earn money. Her only problem is her fountain pen kleptomania. She compulsively takes her writing instruments everywhere. During an auction, she steals a fountain pen from an auction guest. A short time later, this man, Fabian, is invited to dinner: He is a friend of Michael's. Paula falls deeply in love with Fabian and her plans for the future begin to falter. In the end, she decides against security and follows her passion. She flees into uncertainty with Fabian.

Four episodes, four instances from a man’s life covering 25 years, from 1965 in Germany to 1990 in Athens. The episodes seem to be irrelevant to one another, yet they all focus on male powerplay, reveal the self-consciousness and moderation of the protagonist’s idiosyncrasy and depict some special aspects of the Greek male mentality. Probably Nikos Panayotopoulos’ most personal film, covering a substantial period of his generation’s years, “I’m dreaming of my friends” is based on the book by Dimitris Nollas, looks a lot like a “road movie” and features an all-male cast, as if there’s no room for women in it.