|

Film Info

Germany 2018 | 111 min. Director: Gerd Kroske
There is currently no offer available

SPK Complex

Synopsis

In 1970, Dr. Wolfgang Huber and a group of patients founded the anti-psychiatric (Sozialistische PatientenKollektiv - SPK) 'Socialist Patient’s Collective' in Heidelberg. Controversial therapy methods, political demands, and a massive interest in the movement from patients deeply distrustful of conventional “custodial psychiatry,” led to run-ins with the University of Heidelberg and local authorities. The conflict quickly escalated and resulted in the radicalization of the SPK. Their experiment in group therapy ultimately ended in arrests, prison, and the revocation of Huber’s license to practice medicine.
From a historical perspective, the SPK court cases seem to anticipate the Stammheim trials, with the exclusion of defense attorneys, the total non-compliance of the defendants, and harsh penalties for both Huber and his wife. The severity of the sentences handed down appears hardly proportional to the actual deeds of the accused. The allegation of having supported the RAF, and thus of being complicit in their terrorism, still clings to the SPK and overlies what the movement was originally about: the rights of psychiatric patients, resistance, and self-empowerment—issues that are still relevant today.
SPK COMPLEX focuses on the untold story of events before the 'Deutscher Herbst' (German Autumn) and their consequences up to the present day. A story of insanity, public perception, and (un)avoidable violence. (Berlinale Catalogue)

Cast & Crew

Festivals/awards

68th Berlinale 48th FORUM
15th dokumentarfilmwoche hamburg 2018
33rd DOK.fest Munich
Enter Onepager
1

slide_title_1

slide_description_1

alt_text_onepager_description_1
slide_headline_2
2

slide_title_2

slide_description_2

alt_text_onepager_description_2
slide_headline_3
3

slide_title_3

slide_description_3

alt_text_onepager_description_3
slide_headline_4
4

slide_title_4

slide_description_4

alt_text_onepager_description_4
Create / edit OnePager