Thomas Eifler

Based on the life of German toymaker Margarete Steiff, the movie shows her long way from a 10-year-old girl, confined to a wheelchair, to one of the first and most successful creators of toy stuffed animals.

Hamburg, Germany, 1939. Getting a passage aboard the passenger liner St. Louis seems to be the last hope of salvation for more than nine hundred German Jews who, desperate to escape the atrocious persecution to which they are subjected by the Nazi regime, intend to emigrate to Cuba.

In her teens, Mme. Zachanassian had to flee her home town in disgrace. Now she's old and rich and the town is facing bankruptcy. But she returns with news that she wants to help - as long as the townsfolk kill someone for her.

When Hanna Herold from Namibia receives the news of her father's death, it is a double shock for her: she had previously lived in the belief that her father had died in Africa when she was three years old. Together with her husband Holger, Hanna flies to Lüderitz. She wants to find out who her father was. The notary's letter also announces that her father has left her an inheritance.

Five "60-somethings" with different motives travel to Cuba, which vehemently changes their view of life. In a lively clash of cultures, German determination meets Cuban casual joie de vivre. The five Germans' visions of the last third of their lives are transformed by the vibrant charm of the Caribbean island and its lively inhabitants.