Vor der Morgenröte

The film relates episodes from Austrian writer Stefan Zweig’s life in exile. At the height of his worldwide fame, he was driven to emigrate and despaired over the downfall of Europe, which he had foreseen early on. 

It is the story of a refugee, the story of losing one’s former home and searching for a new one. Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Petrópolis were four stations of Stefan Zweig’s exile which, despite providing a safe refuge, a hospitable reception and a stunning natural world in the tropics, did not grant him peace and could not replace his homeland.