May 1945: Sophie (5) and her parents try to flee the Russian frontline. They stop at a hotel, where they encounter two Nazis. They fight – Sophie loses her parents and her memory. Soon Soviets occupy the hotel, find Sophie and make her a cook. Decades later, Sophie regains her memory, when she meets one of the Nazis again.
Heinrich Sabl
Born in 1961, Heinrich Sabl grew up in an industrial estate in eastern Germany. To escape the confinement, he sought out the world of theatre at an early age and studied puppetry. In the mid-eighties, he turned to film. Initially in the East Berlin underground, later as the creator of numerous animated films. He has been working on ‘Memory Hotel’ since 1999.