DER HAVARIST – THE SHIPWRECKER

Alemania, 1984
Director: Wolf-Eckart Bühler

Directed by: Wolf-Eckart Bühler
Based on Sterling Hayden’s autobiography The Wanderer (1963)
Producer: Wolf-Eckart Bühler, Red Harvest Films
Cinematography: Peter Gauche
Editing: Gisela Castronari
Sound: Martin Müller
Music: Konstantin Wecker
Cast: Burkhard Driest, Hannes Wader, Rüdiger Vogler, Sterling Hayden, Hans-Michael Rehberg

Based on Sterling Hayden’s autobiography, Der Havarist reenacts moments of Hayden’s life and stages passages of the book, centering on his testimonies before the HUAC (House Committee on Un-American Activities). Three different actors play the role of Starling Hayden: Then controversial Burkhard Driest; the professed member of Germany’s Communist Party and songwriter Hannes Wader, and Rüdiger Vogler. Der Havarist is an extraordinary film, a political statement and also, as Bühler says, an opportunity for us all to question ourselves.