Directed by:
Hans WeingartnerScreenplay:
Hans WeingartnerCinematography:
Christine A. MaierCast:
Moritz Bleibtreu, Elsa Schulz Gambard, Milan Peschel, Simone Hanselmann, Thorsten Feller, Tom Jahn, Robert Viktor Minich, Irshad Panjatan, Andreas Brandt (more)Plots(1)
Successful TV producer Rainer has it all: big salary, high life, hot car, even hotter girlfriend. The 30-something go-getter has reached the top by creating TV shows appealing to the lowest level and getting the highest ratings. In his latest hit, a man gets the privilege of fathering a woman's child if his spermatozoid wins a microscopic race to fertilize an ovum! One day, the mysterious young woman Pegah deliberately drives full speed into Rainer's car. On the verge of death, Rainer has a major change of heart and decides to produce a thought-provoking news show for his station's primetime line-up. Devastated by the show's poor ratings, Rainer quits his job and embarks on an investigation of the ratings system that keeps programmes that insult the intelligence at the top. Teaming up with the beautiful Pegah he hires a gang of unemployed social misfits and sets out to prove that a conspiracy surrounds the boxes used in select households to estimate audience percentages. Rainer and his new friends take up the challenge against the mind-numbing world of television. (Berlinale)
(more)Cast
![Moritz Bleibtreu](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/168/790/168790957_jgs7rf.jpg)
Moritz Bleibtreu
West Germany
Best movies:
Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Time You Change (2010)
![Elsa Schulz Gambard](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/213/161213542_ae8de6.jpg)
Elsa Schulz Gambard
West Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Der Wunschbaum (2004) (series)
![Milan Peschel](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/284/159284695_e3ba97.jpg)
Milan Peschel
East Germany
Best movies:
Stopped on Track (2011)
The Captain (2017)
Lessons of a Dream (2011)
![Simone Hanselmann](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/213/161213517_c1555d.jpg)
Simone Hanselmann
West Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Single by Contract (2010)
Flashback (2000)
![Thorsten Feller](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/597/158597299_4a92eb.jpg)
Thorsten Feller
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Pédale douce (1996)
Sex Up - Ich könnt' schon wieder (2005) (TV movie)
![Tom Jahn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/040/160040517_3c2142.jpg)
Tom Jahn
West Germany
Best movies:
The Collini Case (2019)
Free Rainer (2007)
Das Wunder von Berlin (2008) (TV movie)
![Robert Viktor Minich](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/308/162308894_2d77a5.jpg)
Robert Viktor Minich
West Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Operation Valkyrie (2004) (TV movie)
Jargo (2004)
Irshad Panjatan
India
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Kebab Connection (2004)
Manitou's Shoe (2001)
Andreas Brandt
East Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
Ein starkes Team (1994) (series)
![Gregor Bloéb](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/063/160063240_0c9f7d.jpg)
Gregor Bloéb
Austria
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Rabbit Without Ears (2007)
Die Toten vom Bodensee (2014) (series)
![Doris Golpashin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/213/161213516_8abd28.jpg)
Doris Golpashin
Austria
Best movies:
Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch! (2008)
Free Rainer (2007)
Jew Suss: Rise And Fall (2010)
![Franziska Knuppe](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/213/161213985_b63247.jpg)
Franziska Knuppe
East Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Four Against the Bank (2016)
Knut Berger
West Germany
Best movies:
The Hippocratic Silence (2022)
The Educators (2004)
Walk on Water (2004)
![Vinzenz Kiefer](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/419/419043_8c9ac2.jpg)
Vinzenz Kiefer
West Germany
Best movies:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
Free Rainer (2007)
T-34 (2018)
![Finja Martens](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/800/157800173_93f9c8.jpg)
Finja Martens
West Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
Inga Lindström (2004) (series)
![Gudrun Gundelach](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/323/159323749_704883.jpg)
Gudrun Gundelach
Best movies:
Es (1966)
Free Rainer (2007)
The Flesh (1991)
![Peer Jäger](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/166/160166992_7ce5b1.jpg)
Peer Jäger
Best movies:
Aimee & Jaguar (1999)
Free Rainer (2007)
The Miracle of Bern (2003)
![Falk Rockstroh](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/221/162221142_02e7a0.jpg)
Falk Rockstroh
East Germany
Best movies:
The Collini Case (2019)
Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger (2006) (TV movie)
Free Rainer (2007)
![Heike Jonca](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/473/159473879_e9a54b.jpg)
Heike Jonca
East Germany
Best movies:
Free Rainer (2007)
The Promise (1995)
Polizeiruf 110 (1971) (series)
Susanne Knoll
Best movies: