12 means: I love you

On the 50th anniversary of the birth of David Stresow (October 1, 1973)
Bettina was arrested in 1985 for her banned contacts with the West and brought before the young Stasi officer Jan for interrogation. They see each other almost every day during the eight-month interrogation, and during this time the unthinkable happens: they fall in love. They communicate with each other with just a few words and gestures. During interrogation, Bettina repeatedly writes the numbers 11 and 12 on a board – the 11-letter phrase “You are beautiful,” and 12 means: “I love you.”

They are then separated: Bettina is convicted and sent to Hohnik Prison for three years before being deported to the West. Jan became a major shortly before the end of the German Democratic Republic. Twelve years later, Bettina, who now guides visitors through a former Stasi prison converted into a memorial, has been tracking down her own detective ever since. Jan – married with a daughter – now works as an accountant in a logistics company. When the two see each other again, their love returns…