Peter Strelzyk lives with his family in a tense East German town, where the border zone and constant surveillance color daily life. The film opens with stock footage of the era, including iconic moments from Berlin’s border, underscoring a world where escape feels almost impossible and every plan could draw attention from the authorities.
In April 1978, a tragedy strikes during a family picnic: Lukas Keller, a teenager, tries to flee East Germany by bulldozing through the Inner German border, only to be shot and left for dead by surrounding guards. The Keller family is taken by the police, and the news ripples through the town.Seeing the heavy hand of the regime and the sorrow around him, Peter Strelzyk grows determined to get his family and a few others out. He shares his plan with his friend Günter Wetzel, and together they hatch a daring escape using a hot‑air balloon. They purchases a considerable amount of taffeta—about 1,255 square yards—under the guise of buying fabric for a camping club. While Günter sews the pieces together in his attic, Peter experiments for months with building a workable burner, hoping to lift eight people at once. The process is fraught with setbacks: fires during inflation, a fragile burner, suspicious neighbors, and intense doubts from Petra, the wife of Günter, who worries about the plan’s feasibility and the danger it poses to their families.
To avoid arousing suspicion, the two men briefly halt their collaboration. Peter teams up with his eldest son Frank to complete the burner, and after extensive testing, the device seems ready. On 3 July 1979, the four members of the Strelzyk family attempt their initial ascent. They rise into the sky, but a border guard spots them. A passing cloud dampens the burner and the balloon, forcing a crash within the border zone, just a short distance from the fences. The eight refugees manage to escape the immediate danger, return to their car, and drive home. The border guard who witnessed the spectacle radios in, and the Stasi—led by Major Koerner—opens a full investigation to identify the balloon’s creators and block any future escapes.
Although that first flight is a near-miss, the resolve among the families hardens. Peter is initially crushed by the failure, but his sons urge him to try again, aware that the Stasi will not give up easily. He convinces Günter Wetzel to join forces once more, and the two families begin work on a larger balloon capable of carrying all eight people out of East Germany. Petra, who has her own reasons to leave—her mother in West Berlin is gravely ill and repeatedly denied permission to visit—agrees to take part in the mission, bringing a new urgency to the plan.
The Stasi intensifies its hunt in and around Pößneck. They identify the likely launch area and quietly begin purchasing more taffeta from various shops to avoid arousing suspicion, while the locals grow increasingly suspicious of the escalating activity. A store manager secretly informs the authorities, triggering more scrutiny. As the teams finish assembling the balloon, they face another critical setback: they lack time to test the craft properly. The authorities close in further when the blood‑pressure medicine belonging to Doris Strelzyk is found—prompting a wider inquiry into the couple’s household. The neighbor, a Stasi informant, reports suspicious behavior, and the families flee just minutes before the weight of the regime closes in. As the border goes on high alert, they reach their launch point with the border already on emergency status.
The balloon is inflated and the burners are lit. All eight climb into the basket, cut their ropes, and hope for a safe passage. A small fire flares on the fabric, but is quickly contained by Günter. A leak appears, and the travelers worry the fabric may fail, yet they press on. They are spotted by the authorities again; a helicopter under the command of border guard Ziegler closes in, and the chase intensifies. The burner's propane runs dry, forcing a descent, while the border guard mobilizes to locate them. The balloon finally lands in a clearing, intact and uninjured, and the eight people emerge to understand they are in the West. Peter and Günter exchange a relieved look as a police car approaches, and when asked if they are in the West, a responding officer confirms it. The two men lift a signal flare, and the families celebrate with an embrace that marks their long journey toward freedom. In that moment, the risk, planning, and perseverance pay off, affirming that even in the most tightly controlled corners of the world, hope can rise on the wind.
