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The film Glaubt nie, was ich singe tells Hans-Eckardt Wenzel’s biography, and explores how a singer-songwriter, critic and provocateur in the GDR, positions himself 30 years after reunification. Set in the present, between 2020 and 2022, it includes footage and flashbacks. Director Lew Hohmann has accompanied Wenzel on tour with his band, at rehearsals and in conversations.

Wenzel, born in 1955 in Kropstädt near Wittenberg, studied cultural theory and aesthetics at the Humboldt University in Berlin from 1976 to 1981. He founded the music theatre group KARLS ENKEL which, making use of political revue and elements of Dada, criticised existing conditions in the GDR, often bordering on the absurd. The clown duo MEH&WEH saw Wenzel & Mensching putting on shows from 1982 to 2000, including Letztes aus der DaDaEr. The duo had quickly become cult. They were banned in the 1980s, and even arrested once. Everything was protocolled by the Stasi.

After a talk between Christoph Hein, Andreas Dresen, Lew Hohmann and Wenzel himself, moderated by radio presenter Marion Brasch, Wenzel & Band will give a concert on the stage of the Volksbühne.