Variety has been given access to the international trailer (below) for “A Thousand Lines,” by one of Germany’s most successful directors, Michael Bully Herbig (“Manitou’s Shoe”), and starring two of its leading actors, Elyas M’Barek (“Fuck You Göhte”) and Jonas Nay (“Deutschland 83”). The film opened via Warner Bros. across German-speaking Europe two weeks ago. Beta Cinema is presenting it to buyers at AFM.

“A Thousand Lines” – a blend of satire, drama and comedy – is written by Hermann Florin, inspired by Juan Moreno’s “Tausend Zeilen Lüge.” It is the fictional adaptation of one of Germany’s biggest media scandals. The story centers on freelance journalist Juan Romero, played by M’Barek, who encounters inconsistencies in a cover story by award-winning reporter Lars Bogenius, played by Nay.

For the time being, the board of directors of the Chronik news magazine sticks by their celebrated leading writer, and try to ignore Romero’s search for the truth. The bosses have staked too much on their star writer, and cannot admit to any irregularities.

But Romero is unstoppable. Over the course of his research, he pushes the boundaries until he has nothing left to lose… other than his job, his reputation, and his family.

“A Thousand Lines” also stars Marie Burchard, Michael Ostrowski, Jörg Hartmann, Michael Maertens, Sara Fazilat and Jeff Burrell.

The film is produced by UFA Fiction in co-production with Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany, and Feine Filme. The producers are Sebastian Werninger and Florin.

It was supported by FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, FFA Filmförderungsanstalt, Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, and Deutscher Filmförderfonds mit Unterstützung vom spanischen Tax Credit für ausländische Produktionen.

Herbig is one of Germany’s most successful directors. He made his directorial debut with “Erkan & Stefan” in 2000 and followed up with “Manitou’s Shoe” (2001), which he wrote, directed, produced and in which he played the double leading role. With almost 12 million filmgoers, “Manitou’s Shoe” became the most successful German film of all time.

“(T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1,” which opened in cinemas in 2004, became the second most successful German film ever. Herbig also directed the CGI animated comedy “Lissi and the Wild Emperor,” “Vicky the Viking” and the award-winning political thriller “Balloon,” in which he tells the true story of two families who fled East Germany by balloon.