International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Synopsis

Magdalena Kopp was married to the most wanted terrorist in the world: Carlos the Jackal. Moving from a small conservative Bavarian town to the revolutionary zeitgeist of 1960s Berlin, she was attracted to the radical leftist circles of Frankfurt. This is how she came in contact with the Venezuelan "professional revolutionary" Carlos, who was fast becoming the world's first celebrity terrorist. She trained with Palestinian freedom fighters and fought alongside their national heroes. She followed Carlos into dangerous international intrigues, in a world of nebulous secret services and shady governments, and gave birth to their daughter Rosa. By the time Magdalena realized that the political ideals were long gone, and only a hunger for power lurked behind their violent struggle, she was already too deeply involved. In the Dark Room paints the story of international terrorism on the canvas of this family drama.  For some Carlos is a revolutionary, for others a murderer, but for Rosa he's a father - one she has not seen since she was five years old and only knows through the media. While Carlos stands trial in Paris, mother and daughter take a courageous and emotional journey beyond the shadows of his myth.