101 Days, The Stadelheim Prison Experiment
A Dramatic Comedy Based On A True Story
LOGLINE
“101 Days” is based on a true story about friendship, innocence and survival between a career criminal that has spent 14 years behind bars and his cell mate, a man falsely accused and convicted—two people whom under normal circumstances would never meet.
PITCH PARAGRAPH
Arrested and behind bars in a foreign country for a crime he did not commit, struggling American musician KASEY JONES experiences a unique, heart warming friendship with the hardened, “gypsy” career criminal, TSCHABO PFEIFER. Together, this odd couple overcome and master the harsh reality of Europe’s largest prison, Stadelheim. Things climax when they find themselves unraveling a scandal of corruption and coorsion which could lead to their mutual freedom or their untimely demise.
SYNOPSIS
Shortly after being dumped again by his flaky English girlfriend FIONA, frustrated musician KASEY JONES finds himself alone in a driver-less taxi parked in the center of a busy intersection. Drunk, depressed and confused, he occupies the back seat as a toy gun rests on his lap and 2000 Euros sits on the passenger seat in front of him and 10 police officers surround the car.
Mistaken for the notorious Taxi Bandit currently terrorizing the city, Kasey is arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a weapon, and now faces 5 years in jail. Being a foreigner that does not speak the language only makes matters worse in this “guilty until proven innocent” justice system.
Later when alone in his cell, Kasey has an emotional breakdown and fails at a suicide attempt which leads to him being moved to the prison medical wing. There he is confronted by corrupt psychiatrist DR. SCHWARTZ, whose flimsy diagnoses leads to Kasey being befriended by 14 year prison veteran, TSCHABO PFEIFER, who is a patient recovering from an intravenous drug infection.
Leaving the prison hospital together, Kasey and Tschabo become cellmates in the main prison block, D1. Tschabo quickly transforms Kasey into a legitimate “Gefangener” (prisoner) as Kasey contributes to Tschabo experiencing a real, unconditional friendship with a “normal” person for the first time. As partners they successfully forge their own drug smuggling operation using Kasey’s mandatory visits to psychologist DR. PECHER and Kasey’s weekly church choir rehearsals as their main trade routes.
Their mutual goal of freedom is potentially threatened when UWE, Tschabo’s drug connection on the outside, decides he wants to take over the booming prison drug-market starting with Stadelheim Prison. Electing Tschabo and Kasey for a big job, he orders them to deliver a large shipment of heroin to Turkish drug lord TAKA SYERE and also a death warrant to Stadelheim’s alleged drug boss, the crooked Dr. Schwartz.
Making matters worse Kasey and Tschabo send their “houseboy”, simply known as the AUSTRIAN BUM, to deliver the death warrant to Schwartz following Kasey’s nearly botched drug-drop to Taka Syere. Unknown to everyone, the Austrian Bum is actually undercover agent JOSH LONN, on assignment trying to bust the European prison drug ring.
Since having earlier saved Agent Lonn from a gang rape and leading him to Dr. Schwartz’s unintentional but convenient confession to the “Austrian Bum”, Lonn repays Kasey and Tschabo by omitting them from Schwartz’s testimony and prosecution, eventually leading to Kasey and Tschabo’s freedom.
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