Discoveries from East Germany World Cinema

Documentary about the Potsdam landscape painter and art teacher Hubert Globisch.

The film depicts the everyday lives of children in Nicaragua in three episodes.

The Bitterfeld lignite combine includes a large number of lignite plants, open-cast mines, power stations and briquette factories. The film presents several mining professions, shows miners' jobs, mostly in connection with modern mining technology, and points out the great prospects that mining offers in a wide variety of professions.

An intensive interview with the young protagonist Rainer about his non-conformist life is combined with scenes from his everyday life. The documentary fiction Orangemond by Gabriele Denecke was created in 1979/80 as part of her master's student studies with Frank Beyer at what was then the GDR University of Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg. The film was not completed. After viewing the raw material, the university decided that there would be no editing for the film. Eventually Gabriele Denecke was only able to put the film together in the sequence of scenes.

Student film depicting recess at a grade school.

Short film intended for the mobilization of NVA units to secure the state border in Berlin on 13 August 1961.

In 1952, the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) decides to establish a "Museum of German History" (MfDG) in the Zeughaus Unter den Linden. As the central history museum of the GDR, it is committed to the Marxist-Leninist conception of history. The film Museum of German History. Insights and Encounters - a GDR television documentary from 1988 - shows the reconstruction of the war-damaged building, presents selected eras such as the Peasants' Wars and the Revolution of 1848 and observes the preparations for a special exhibition on "Artists in the Class Struggle". The film also provides insights into the restorers' workshops, the coin collection and the painting depot.

Shortly after the construction of the wall in August 1961, many guests visit the East German army troops who protect the wall.

Short film about the naval training in the GDR.

A report on the work of a reservist collective from a factory of the Guben chemical fiber combine.

A short film about the work of the employees of the East German customs administration

A portrait of Helga Hörz, professor of ethics and philosophy at the Humboldt University in Berlin.

In works like “Guide Dog Ruepel” (1962), Bärbl Bergmann was the first feature film director in the GDR to portray children in their often pitiless but also honest dealings with each other, something that was almost impossible in the documentary films of that period. But she also managed to sneak lessons on how to pursue educational goals with creative obstinacy into popular science films. Thus her educational piece about two boys who discover that magic, too, requires hard work, despite its rational approach, is far from disenchanting: The protagonists reach their conclusion via detours that take them through mysterious corridors, furtive looks through keyholes and bewitching dreams.

The married couple Angelika and Horst Butter sum up successes and setbacks of their joint amateur filmmaking. They now produce elaborate puppet animations in their private rooms, under sometimes adverse conditions. They adapt fairy tale and fantasy sources, but also take up topical social issues, for example in an entertaining vision for International Women’s Day.

Accompanying Liselotte Schließer, who worked full time as a technical draughtswoman, in her private and professional daily life. She talks about the passion that became her second mission in life. The only woman in organised amateur filmmaking for many years and now head of the amateur filmmakers’ association of Radebeul, she still misses female directors and camera people.

On the occasion of the GDR Landeskulturgesetz (Law on the Conservation and Protection of the Environment), passed in 1970, the speaker explains the various aspects of environmental protection through vivid, visually pointed examples. The film repeatedly refers to the fundamental contradiction between exploitation and preservation of nature in a developed industrial state but is unable to resolve it.

At the age of 18, Johann Sebastian Bach was ordered to Arnstadt to test the functionality and quality of a new organ. At the same time, as a musician striving for the future, Bach strikes very idiosyncratic tones that arouse the excitement of the Rector Driver and other persons of spiritual and secular authority.

Instructional short about the cleaning procedures on German trains.

This portrait of East German sculptor and graphic artist Fritz Cremer (1906-1993) shows the artist at work in his studio and some of his art works, including sculptures for his Buchenwald Memorial. It accompanies the images with a text by Bertolt Brecht, read by actor Wolfgang Heinz of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.

Anton, a touring musician, arrives in a foreign country with his tuba. The people there enjoy the music and decide to build their own instruments. Soon there is music everywhere. The king also wants to play a huge instrument, but he has no talent and makes no progress. He gets angry and demands that all instruments be rounded up.

An album of moving illustrations showing the history of communism, from the rise of the first trade unions in the 1820s to the present day celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the October Revolution in the Eastern Bloc.

During a football match, three mice kick a few stones that hit a sleeping lion on the head. Then the ball lands in front of him and a mouse rolls after it. The little mouse, trembling, asks the lion for his ball and gets away scot-free. A little later, the mice hear a loud roar from the nearby forest. They run after the noise and discover the lion in a trap. Together they free him with a trick and ride off on his back.

A mother hedgehog lives in the forest with her seven sons. Two of them fall down a slope; one is eaten by an owl, the other is found after hibernation by a forester who takes it home with him.

Four generations of one familiy live in the heart of the Spreewald, close to the coalmines and power stations. From their elders, the children have picked up Lower Sorbian as their first language... Many have left the area for cities or manufacturing towns. One who returned is the ferryman Rainer Schmidt. After a spell down the mines, all he wants to live here on the rivulet, next door to his father's house. Life in this seemingly idyllic landscape has never been easy for the inhabitans, and always demanded a strong sense of community. A thoughtful film portrait and urgent plea to accept our responsibility as custodians of the environment.

This short animation film, which is part of the series Musikalische Arabesken (Musical Arabesks), is a colorful and expressionistic interpretation of Antonin Dvorák’s Humoresque played in a modern version by the Jo Kurzweg Orchestra.

The animator uses expressionistic drawings for a filmic adaptation of Robert Schumann’s delightful and famous piece Dreaming, the composer’s well-known piece from Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood).

A film on the subject of peace. The authors' discussion partners, who contribute their own reflections and assessments to the film, are the translator Georgia Peet, the toxicologist and chemist Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Lohs, the pastor Jan Laser, the stonemason Ralph Jeremias and Major General Hans Unterdörfel.

A girl is sitting in the garden doing schoolwork and is distracted by butterflies flying around. She throws away her pen and runs after the butterflies. Meanwhile, a little ink devil forms at the tip of the quill and gets up to all sorts of mischief.

The entire globe is barren; there is no green left. A long line of people edges slowly forward. Under the strictest security, the people manage finally to get into the museum, where they can see… a tree!

The film shows a humorous take on moments from the life of Karl Marx over the course of a quarter century.

Eberhard Kunstmann, a shipbuilder at the Neptune Wharf in Rostock, counsels collegues who are struggling with alchohol addiction.

An independent experimental short from the GDR.

In this film about apprentices of the Rewatex laundry, Böttcher once again turns to the focal concern of almost all his films the attempt to report as truthfully and impressibly as possible on the life of workers. Böttcher takes the audience into the midst of a seemingly unknown environment only to let them realize how familiar this world in fact is.

This film portraits the artist and model-builder Hermann Gloeckner, who was born in Dresden in 1889. Even at the age of 96 he is still drawing with undiminished creative energy.

The film depicts a situation that any family could find itself in and that is dealt with in different ways. The Buschner family has divorced. The film does not attempt to search for reasons for the separation and apportion blame, but rather to show how the woman in particular, with her two children aged seven and eleven, copes with the effects of this drastic life event. The woman expresses her feelings shortly after the divorce and her wishes for the future. The man, who now has a new family, also shares his thoughts. The children's statements are particularly moving: despite their great helplessness in the conflict between their parents, they still have new hopes for their mother's relationship.

Thrashing East is a historic 1990 thrash metal festival and the resulting live documentary. Held on March 4, 1990, at the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle in East Berlin, it is highly celebrated for taking place just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall.The event was a massive cultural milestone, bringing Western extreme metal to fans in the former Eastern Bloc.

GDR propaganda short promoting waste steel collection

The story of two Soviet chief engineers from Leningrad. Both are graduate engineers who have been in the German Democratic Republic for several years, have learned German, and are supervising the assembly of the latest generator in Unit 8 of the Boxberg thermal power plant.

Through three loosely connected stories centered on individuals, Huisken and Menegoz depict the changes in urban and rural areas as well as the development of remote regions. A traveling tinker from Old Beijing observes the industrialization taking place around him. A young couple from the village of Minh Tu Sian harvests rice using traditional methods but is already celebrating their wedding in a modern way. Engineering graduate Tschao Lin travels to Shanghai by ship up the Yangtze River to help build a railway line. In the finale, a difficult stage—bridging the wild river—is completed.

This documentary explores the life and controversial death of Egyptian Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, a close friend of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and once considered the second most powerful man in Egypt. Although his death was officially ruled a suicide after the 1967 defeat, the film presents evidence and testimonies that suggest he may have been assassinated. Through historical analysis and rare archival material, it sheds light on one of Egypt’s most debated political mysteries.

The documentary provides a factual look at the lost and found services of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (the GDR state railway).

While her mother is working at the theater, Ulrike is afraid at home in the evenings. Then she meets Mampfotius Schmatz, the flying trash can, who tells her funny stories.

Chicken Gock and the mice Singeschön and Springeschön want to celebrate a sports festival. It is to begin with a big race. At the starting line are a scooter and a tricycle for the mice and a little cart for the rooster. But since the mice feel like they are going to win from the outset, they don't try very hard, and the rooster wins.

A filmed reportage on the 1st session of the International Commission of Enquiry into the Crimes committed by the military junta in Chile, Helsinki, March 1974.

The GDR is delivering pre-assembled port crane systems to Morocco by water.

This animated film advertises the advantages of the “Buchclub 65” (Book Club 65), a book community founded in 1965. Membership in the community, which existed until 1990, entitled you to regularly buy books at discount prices. The nationwide supply of reading matter to the population of the GDR is emphasised, the club magazine is introduced. And once a year, there is a gift: the main recommendation book.

This color documentary reports on the winter sports resort of Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest. Vacationers and members of the FDGB, as well as professional winter athletes, appreciate the opportunities this location has to offer. The camera accompanies the Baron family as they try out skiing at the ski school, documents the 1985 Luge World Championships, interviews the president of the International Luge Federation, and shows the activities of ordinary winter sports enthusiasts as well as the efforts of professional cross-country skiers in training. Noteworthy footage of the 9th Rennsteiger mass race and the training of young athletes, as well as the fun side of the Oberhof Ice Carnival, enrich this film. Finally, the special achievements at the Oberhof Children's and Youth Spartakiad are highlighted.

1. Families enjoy winter vacations in the GDR mountains, skiing, sledding, and building snowmen. Ski rentals and lifts are available, and winter sports promote health. Berlin has over 50 spray ice rinks, and ice sailing is popular. Trade unions offer vacation spots like the Panoramahotel in Oberhof. 2. Children are encouraged to start winter sports early, with sports clubs and ice hockey games. Spartakiade competitions involve millions, with top athletes meeting in Oberhof. The Spartakiade boosts popular sports. 3. The GDR achieves international winter sports success due to state and socialist support. Klingenthal hosts an annual ski jumping competition with 42,000 visitors, and Oberhof hosts international events

Actor Manfred Krug reports on winter sports in the GDR. Numerous topics are covered in short segments: promoting young talent in winter sports, training young figure skaters at SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, coach Schellhorn, young talents Romy Kerner and Tassilo Thierbach, presenter Manfred Krug interviews Gaby Seifert, ski jumping in Oberhof, ski jumper Dieter Neuendorf, young talent in alpine disciplines, Spartakiade in Oberhof, Jutta Müller briefly on screen, ice hockey, and cross-country skiing.

Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil began his studies at the GDR’s German Academy of Film Art in 1976. His diploma film, HEIDIA MOURAD – I AM NOT A DREAMER, is a portrait of a Palestinian woman – heavily injured in an explosion in Beirut – who receives medical treatment and vocational rehabilitation in the GDR.

The film creates a vision of the destruction of the world and warns against its realization.