Home Game

About the film

This story has the makings of a fairy tale. Almost completely shattered after the reunification, East Germany’s ice hockey team Dynamo Berlin rose again to join the national ice hockey league as the “Eisbären” (the Polar Bears – or Ice Bears). Today Eisbären home games are famously cheery events in which loyal East Germans vent their frustrations in song, chants and dance. During the process of restructuring, the club rose up through the ranks and emerged as a symbol of self-esteem – if not a lifebelt - for fans from the eastern Länder of a unified Germany.

In Home Game Oscar-winning director Pepe Danquart explores the elating relationship between a sport team and its fans, as is evident in the Eisbären phenomenon, which reflects many painful aspects of the German reunification. This brilliant rendition of an extremely energetic and combative team game raises the bar for the sport film genre - Home Game is not just for hardcore ice hockey fans. .