Written and directed by award-winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Never Look Away is a foreign film that won two awards at the Venice Film Festival 2018. 

The movie follows young artist Kurt Barnert, played by Tom Schilling. Barnet fled from East Germany to West Germany. Yet, he is still tormented by his childhood experiences as a boy during the Nazi years and the GDR regime. The German Democratic Republic began in 1949 and ended in 1990. The period when the eastern portion of Germany was part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, with the Berlin Wall in place.

He meets a student named Ellie, played by Paula Beer. He is positive he has met the love of his life. He begins an artist journey, creating paintings that mirror not only his fate but also the traumas of an entire generation.

The movie tells the story, or at least part of the story, of the oppression these Europeans experienced, which is appalling. Even though the film is filled with abuse, the colorful scenery and well-defined sets indicate hope for the people.