Multimedia Reading "Rose + Robert. Love in Times of War"

Edda Buchspieß and Jochen Voit: Reading

A graphic novel: Comic artist Lilya befriends an elderly neighbor named Robert, who tells her the story of his first love, Rose. Fascinated, Lilya begins to draw: a romance set in 1970s East Germany in the shadow of the Iron Curtain. The tale centers on the rebellious Rose, who loved to draw, and Robert, who protected her when a West German smuggler put her in mortal danger. But suddenly Lilya doubts the truth of the story. She finds a man with a completely different version: Rose wanted to leave East Germany and paid dearly for her desire for freedom. Lilya tries to uncover the truth. Who were Rose and Robert really? The love story becomes a political thriller, Lilya's investigation becomes a parable about old and newly reignited East-West conflicts.

Artist Lilya Matveeva (*1988 in Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union) studied illustration at the British High School of Art and Design in Moscow; since 2012 a freelance artist, primarily for NGOs and human rights organizations such as Transparency International and Memorial; since her escape from Moscow in 2022, she has lived in Berlin.
Scenario writer Jochen Voit (*1972 in Nuremberg) trained as a bookseller and studied history and communication sciences in Munich, worked as a music journalist and comic scenario writer; since 2012 he has headed the Andreasstraße Memorial and Education Center in Erfurt.
Contribution to the Friedrichshafener Tage der Demokratie.
In cooperation with the Schulmuseum Friedrichshafen and Medienhaus am See.

Duration: approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.