@timebasedarts

Gladbeck, Germany, August 1988: Two gangsters rob a bank, take two bank employees hostage and embark on an odyssey across West Germany. As the hours turn into days they hijack a bus carrying almost thirty passengers. The police lose control of the situation while reporters get a whiff of a sensation and inject themselves into a crime that blossoms into a media event. For three days, the eyes and ears of the entire country are glued to live television, live radio and newspapers – and before it’s all over, three innocent people are dead. GLADBECK:The Hostage Crisis tells this gripping story exclusively using archive material, including news, live reports, telephone recordings and amateur recordings made over the three days of the hostage rampage. The film is an unsparing look at the moment when news became merchandise and crime became spectacle - it marks the beginning of an era that persists today. The project was created by Film Five and we helped from its development stages right through to grading, titles and completion. Now streaming on Netflix. @film.five