Sönke Wortmann's graduation film at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (university for television and film) in Munich, Germany.
In order to reach feature-length, Bavarian distributor "AV-Film" released "Drei D" in combination with Wortmann's short "Fotofinish." Prints of both were struck in 16mm, although "Fotofinish" was shot in 35mm.
Reinhard Nahr, CEO of Globus Film (35mm distributor) and AV Film (16mm distributor) discovered this production during his annual honorary activities at the Hofer Filmtage festival in October 1988 and decided to make it available through his company "AV-Film."
The film won the "Eastman Promotional Award" at the Hofer Filmtage in 1988 and was nominated for the Student Academy Award in 1990.
"Drei D" contains a couple of cross-references to "Play it Again, Sam" - directed by Herbert Ross, written by Woody Allen. "PIAS" is mentioned in the dialogue, the German movie poster is shown, the central character is seen watching "PIAS" in a cinema - being the only spectator in a big theater, and the closing scene is a direct homage to "PIAS" (which in turn is an homage to Michael Curtiz' "Casablanca")