Discoveries from East Germany World Cinema

Documentary on the former border patrol sergeant Klein. Klein deserted in 1961, defected to the enemy and betrayed state and military secrets. He was caught by the security forces.

For his mockery a witch transforms the pert boy Jacob into an ugly dwarf, but teaches him at the same time how to cook. Jacob quickly becomes a master of his trade and is named the prince's first cook. Only the mysterious herb "sneeze-with-passion" is unknown to him. Based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.

In 1757, the second year of the Seven Years' War, Frederick II the Great stands at the gates of Prague. He has been trying to take the city for weeks, as the enemy commander Duke Charles of Lorraine is inside. Frederick has just defeated him, but the tide could soon turn against the Prussians, as new Austrian troops are approaching. None other than the famous master thief Andreas Christian Käsebier is to sneak into Prague to open the gates from the inside. As a reward, the king promises him freedom. Käsebier accepts the offer because he is tempted to steal an entire city. But by chance, Käsebier learns that the king wants to betray him. After a successful battle, he is put back behind bars for life. This doesn't suit the master thief at all, especially as he has just fallen in love with Katka in Prague.

Farmer Wurzel is unhappy because his work is not bringing him the prosperity he had hoped for. Nor can he expect his daughter to marry rich, unfortunately she loves the poor fishmonger Kaspar. In order to make a lot of money, the farmer would even get involved with the devil...

On the eve of the German Peasants' War, the family of the young Christoph falls victim to an act of revenge by the knight Scharfenstein. The peasant leader Joß takes Christoph in. He learns to read, write and use a weapon. When Hieronymus is on his way to fetch a flag to signal an uprising, Christoph discovers treachery. To warn Jerome, he rides after him. But he can no longer save him from arrest and fetches the flag himself. On the way back, he is arrested with it. In prison, he meets Jerome again - and his older brother Jacob, who is an executioner. Jakob wants to let his brother go if he renounces the Peasants' Union. Christoph refuses and is able to escape with the flag.

Two best teenage friends spend the summer holidays together in a village. Then a good looking teenage boy appears.

Berlin in the golden 20s. Like no other, the singer and cabaret artist Claire Waldoff found the right words for what the so-called “little people“ thought and felt. Her heartfelt songs with heart and snout triggered storms of enthusiasm and made Claire Waldoff famous. Kurt Tucholsky gave her the nickname "Sparrow of Berlin". With the beginning of the 1930s and the Nazi regime in Germany, the popularity of the Berlin original declined.

The girl Sarina lives in Tajikistan with her father. When her father becomes seriously ill, Sarina sets off on a dangerous journey to get herbs for him. Rare herbs that are guarded by a three-headed monster. And she manages to do what no one before her has managed!

The electrician Peter Drews is a brigadier at a Baltic Sea dockyard. His men are among the most reliable and diligent workers at the dockyard. Their motivation, however, increasingly suffers from Peter’s narcissism and imperiousness. Even his girlfriend Brigitte who is also a member of the brigade finds it increasingly difficult to accept his behavior. One day, Peter decides that the entire group must enter the navy - just because he has received his conscription call. While four men follow Peter into the navy, Brigitte, who has broken up with Peter, takes over the control of the brigade. During the work at the ship on which Peter is based at she meets the charming lieutenant Asmus.

1982: East German actor Erwin Gregorek travels to Hamburg to shoot screen tests for a film about the sinking of the ocean-liner Cap Arcona in 1945 - a catastrophe he himself survived as a concentration camp prisoner.

Short film about the MiG fighter jets of the NVA

Peterle throws snow from the sidewalk into the open window of his sisters' room and is made to come inside immediately by his mother. Meanwhile, his father buys a goose at the Christmas market and brings it home to the delight of the children, who pet and love it. Peterle does not rest until "Guste", as he calls her, is allowed to sleep in his room, as he thinks she is freezing in the cellar. The children and their parents have become so accustomed to the animal that their father cannot bring himself to slaughter "Guste". His attempt to sedate her with sleeping pills beforehand does not have the desired effect either. The plucked goose wakes up in the fridge. Her mother gives her a knitted suit for Christmas. Peterle now proudly takes his "Guste" for a walk, to the amazement of passers-by.

Sabine Wulff is almost 18 when she is released from the juvenile detention center. She doesn't want to return to her unsupportive parents or to her former boyfriend Jimmy, who got her into trouble by persuading her to steal cigarettes. She instead chooses to begin an honest life by getting a job and renting her own room.

A tale of two youngsters who want to reunite their estranged parents. Because of her work commitments, Mum has to leave the children with their absent father for an extended vacation and so he has to learn how to be a proper Dad to them. Meanwhile, the kids do their best to bring the family back together.

Two school classes compete against each other. The prize for the winner is a trip to the Baltic Sea. Lars, Peter and the group leader Manni are confident of victory in the cross-country game, after all they have gained experience in the game as "Chapaev's cavalry army". The first point goes to them. However, they fail the math Olympiad - an Indian movie was more important to them than learning. And before the soccer match, they split into two groups. Lars leads a pitiful remnant of Chapaev riders, while Peter plays Indians with the others. At the soccer match, they put legs on each other, and the other class wins that point too. After the defeat comes the realization: maybe they should practice "Cosmonaut" together again - until next year's competition.

1929: Marie Lehning, a farm worker from Warmsdorf on the Baltic Sea, falls in love with the fisherman's son Mingo. Both complete an apprenticeship in Lübeck. Marie wants to become a seamstress, Mingo a carpenter. After their first night of love, they swear eternal fidelity. But Marie has to return to the village, her mother is ill and her siblings are unprovided for. She starts working as a maid on a farm. Unexpectedly, she meets the young Kurt Meier from Berlin, whom she knows from before.

Factory wife Jenny Treibel plans to engage her youngest, softened and weak son Leopold to teacher's daughter Corinna Schmidt. She wants to cross the plans of her daughter-in-law Helene, who wants to marry her younger sister to the brother-in-law. At the engagement party, Corinna learns from maid Luise that Leopold has a child with her. Corinna dispenses with the wedding, but for Mrs. Treibel, a marriage between Leopold and Luise is out of the question... The old Count Petöfy worships actress Franziska Franz, who would fit better with his nephew Egon in terms of age. He introduces her to his house and marries her. His sister, the strict Judith of Gundolskirchen, approves this step despite the age-appropriate and social distance. However, after a love relationship between the young Count Egon and Franziska, everything changes...

When the hare stumbles over the sleeping hedgehog one Sunday morning, an argument ensues. The insulting word "crooked leg" is uttered. In his distress, the hedgehog develops the idea of a joint race. The hedgehog and his wife prove to the imaginary hare that the wiser laughs last.

After the second World War, Dresden has a lot of reconstructing to do. To get the cigarette factory he once worked for running again, Kalle has to travel to Wittenberg - the only place where carbide can be found. Once there, Kalle find himself in the unfortunate situation of having to hitchhike his way back to Dresden, transporting seven heavy barrels of carbide. However, his inventiveness and optimistic attitude help transform the grueling task into an adventurous, entertaining, and funny journey.

Documentary about a district with social problems and an unconventional teacher, who tries to teach more than just knowledge.

Ev and Peter fall in love at first sight. Peter studies dentistry in Leipzig and is eager to work in the country. There is an unfilled dentist vacancy in his home village. Ev, on the other hand, is drawn to the city. Being a commercial artist, she sees no chance to find a job in the country. This conflict becomes the first real test for their relationship.

Four small-time crooks occasionally enlist the help of their girlfriends to earn a living by robbing cars. It is only when a former television producer joins the business that they achieve visible success.

Puppet animated film based on a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

Children are introduced to the magical world of cinema in a cheerful and fantastic way; embedded in a turbulent story, they learn about the film professions. A young author, Alice, has written a story and travels to the DEFA feature film studio where this story is to be realized. On the way there, she meets characters she has already invented. The doorman, who is later recognized as one of the actors, wants to refuse them entry. Now begins a cheerful plot to realize the story, which is based on a well-known fairy tale, combined with the chase of the gatekeeper, prince and princess. Alice stands up for her charges, who occasionally slip away from her, and tries to move the plot forward, which involves various film professions. In the end, the real and the fictional merge in a fairytale meadow.

Animated short film

During the Napoleonic Wars, German writer Ferdinand von Rauch, who had enthusiastically joined the French revolutionary troops years earlier, is sent to scout the terrain of a small Thuringian village. Unexpectedly, he encounters not only his lover Stella, whom he left years ago but still loves, but also his wife Cäcilie. Stella has taken a position as a companion to Cäcilie with her sixteen-year-old daughter Lucie. Both women, who have been unable to fulfill their longing for love for years, now lay claim to Ferdinand. And the man reciprocates both their love, not wanting to give up either of them.

This is a political picture about the Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Dimitrov. In 1933 during the Reichstag Fire Trial trumped-up charges of having set the Reichstag on fire were brought against him. At the trial Dimitrov exposed the machinations of the Nazis and turned from a defendant into an accuser. Central to the story is the face-to-face political duel between Dimitrov and Goering. Dimitrov's interactions with ordinary Germans, the memories of his wife Lyuba Ivoshevich, and the meetings with his mother Parashkeva alternate with documentary shooting scenes from the time of Nazi Germany.

Photo model Monika Stange is found murdered in her apartment in a major West German city. Detectives Bentheim and Laube find rough diamonds hidden in the apartment. The trail leads to a racketeering ring and the influential industrialist Dr. Vogelsang. The latter is not prepared to get involved in the murder case under any circumstances and refuses to testify. Inspector Laube tries to solve the case without his colleague.

The director of an art museum in Thuringia and an art dealer from Constance entered into an extremely lucrative business relationship. Director Trützschler illegally supplies Ms. Münzenberg with valuable works of art, which she smuggles into West Germany through an intermediary, abusing the transit routes. The business flourishes until they both fall into the CIA's intricate web. They are put under pressure and used to recruit a scientist from Jena. Will the GDR security forces succeed in thwarting the CIA's espionage operation...?

At the beginning of the Second World War, Czech music student Honsik comes to Germany from Prague to join a "foreign worker company". After rescuing a boy from the rubble of a bombed-out house, he himself is seriously injured and taken to a hospital in Stralsund. There he is regarded as a second-class citizen and the Germans are preferred to him. Nurse Käthe stands up for him, cares for him and defies all prohibitions. A love affair is kindled between the two, but it is not under a good star. Honsik tries to flee to his homeland with his comrades and Käthe supports him. At the last moment, however, Honsik realizes that his love for Käthe is stronger than his homesickness and makes his way back. Once back home, he can only watch as Käthe is arrested by the Gestapo. With the help of a resistance fighter, the young man from Prague manages to escape after all.

More than two decades ago, a country in Europe existed that marked the border to a different political and economic system, yet was the very heart of the continent. This country called the German Democratic Republic, made Socialism a reality and was home to 17 million people. Born in the deep eastern provinces, Ringo Rösener witnessed East Germany's collapse as a nation. Ringing in the new millennium, he leaves his hometown of Anklam to live out his homosexuality – something he had never dared to do. Would an openly gay life even have been possible in the real Socialist system? Ringo Rösener meets six gay men who lived in the GDR. Some of them speak openly about their sexuality for the first time in their lives. Little by little, they open up, share their stories, and talk about their lives in the supposedly uniform state.

A communist is released from prison in 1935 Hamburg. He tries to link up with the Party again, but is unsure as to who he can trust, and has difficulty adjusting to life in Nazi Germany.

A brief history of the emergence and artistic innovations of tango in 19th-century Argentina and Europe. The film offers a mosaic of tango melodies, art works, dance performances, historical footage, photographs of Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th century, and texts by Celedonio Flores and Enrique Santos Discépolo.

Although mocked by his collegaues, the dean of Salamanca sets off to find the legendary bird Turlipan.

Frieda and August Walkowiak celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. However, the marriage has been in crisis for some time. August wants to spend his old age in peace, while Frieda has no intention of giving up her position as LPG chairman. The problems in the countryside are huge, collectivization is not progressing fast enough, even comrade Heinrich Rantsch is clinging to his individual farm. Frieda fights for progress, even in her private life, because not only her burden but also her higher position is a thorn in her husband's side. During the wedding anniversary celebrations, Frieda is called to the LPG. This is the cause of the family quarrel that has been in the air for a long time. August demands her resignation. In vain - and so he moves in with Rantsch. Their daughter Helga also leaves the house because of the tensions. Frieda collapses. When she is in hospital, August comes to his senses.

In a casino in a We'5t German health resort, one often sees Sybille - an attractive young student actress. With her winnings from the roulette table, she attempts to finance her studies. Despite a rather lucky streak, her winnings are a little on the lean side. She doesn't, however, gamble with her own money but with that of Dr. Busch, a lawyer, who likes to stay in the background with the argument that gambling houses are not the proper turf for a serious lawyer. From him, Sybille receives only a small share of her winnings later, and only through the intervention of Gerhard Fischer, a journalist, does Sybille come to realize her role in Dr. Busch's fraudulent scheme.

Martin Brandt (1903-1989), an unforgettable Jewish actor and former member of the Jewish Kulturbund Theater in Berlin, recites from Macbeth and Nathan the Wise, the play that opened the theater in October 1933. These last filmic images of Brandt are combined with historic footage and traces of the Jewish past in Berlin.

This short, animated piece of agitprop fiercely expresses the hopes of the Chilean people.

Young people talk to the camera about their ideas of marriage and plans for their future lives.

Dr. Roth, a respected veterinarian and head of a state-owned stud farm, had accepted papers from a man for safekeeping when he was 16 years old, toward the end of the war. Years later, they are picked up. However, this act proves to be his undoing. Before he can ask others for help, he is found dead in his car. Since espionage material is found in the immediate vicinity of the car, the police hand the case over to the State Security Service, which determines that Dr. Roth was murdered. Young Thomas, whose friend and guardian was Dr. Roth, investigates on his own to clear the man who had his complete trust. In doing so, he puts his own life in danger. Thanks to a tip from stud farm employee Renate, the security officers are able to expose the murderer, uncover his connection to the West German secret service, and clear Dr. Roth.

Little Matti and his friends are restoring the old abandoned fire truck .

For the "Festival of good ideas" that is to take place in their residential quarter the musically enthusiastic young Bum wants to rehearse a music show along with his friends. With pans, cans, hooters and other junk they make music. Some adults get angry about that. Others like the second-hand dealer Dohlenei and Mr. Kling from the symphony orchestra help the children to make their fantastic idea come true.

Two girls experience dislike at first sight because of their differences. Then they sort things out.

The story of a resistance fighter in the Nazi era: Communist Hans Löning was arrested in 1933, imprisoned in a concentration camp and tortured. The Gestapo plans to smash the resistance group around Löning. Despite the imminent threat to his life, Löning, together with his wife, organized the passive resistance of the Hamburg workers against the Hitler regime. In 1944, Löning was again taken and killed.

Three men shipwrecked on a desolate island are granted a helpful gift by a mermaid, only to misuse it entirely.

Little Tim Tammer, the son of a lighthouse keeper, lives right on the Baltic Sea beach, but his remote home often leaves him feeling lonely. When Young Pioneers pitch their tents nearby, he is overjoyed and quickly makes new friends.

Major Bert Harkus takes over the artillery regiment in Jesnack after graduating from the military academy. The troop proudly presents itself during an exercise. But apart from some good results in shooting, Harkus soon realizes that there are a few problems. As he does not believe that constant combat readiness is guaranteed, he orders far-reaching changes and does not only make friends. Only gradually do the troops pull themselves together.

This short puppet-animated film criticizes American toy companies for their militaristic toys and marketing which fosters politically aggressive attitudes. Catalogues and building sets made by the American toy companies Aurora and Lindberg report on the ways they are misused for imperialist manipulation. The film particularly emphasizes the rehabilitation and propagation of the German imperialist military tradition, which is seen as responsible for destroying humanistic viewpoints and replacing them with perverted and sadistic attitudes towards humanity.

A high-rise building like any other: the tenants lived a "normal life", went to work, came home and paid no further attention to their neighbors. Until the day when Bombach, a master painter, received a letter in the post that not only shook up his family life, but also that of his fellow tenants.

Professor Gotthold Kittguß leads a secluded life, which is primarily determined by his books. His housekeeper, the widow Müller, takes care of all the practicalities of life. One day, a strange boy appears at his house to deliver a call for help from his 17-year-old godchild Rosemarie, who is the daughter of a deceased pastor friend and lives with the Schliekers, her so-called foster parents, in the small village of Usadel. The Schliekers manage Rosemarie's inheritance, but are anxious to take possession of the farm. They treat Rosemarie like their maid and allow her to live in undignified conditions. After a moment's hesitation, Professor Kittguß sets off for Usadel to help his godchild. But he doesn't receive a warm welcome there and is even locked up in a cellar. Rosemarie frees him and takes him to a secret hiding place in a nearby fisherman's hut.

Until he was 11, Detlef Kammrath (René Siodla) had a carefree childhood. But now his parents have decided to go their separate ways and divorce - a catastrophe for the boy. The court awards custody to his mother (Karin Schröder), but Detlef harshly rejects his mother's new partner (Gerd Grasse). He sees him as the person responsible for his unhappiness. Hoping to improve the family atmosphere, his mother forbids the boy from meeting his biological father; this leads to Detlef's absolute despair, and he becomes a "case" for child welfare services.

Adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novella for East German television, produced in 1965/66, not shown until 1972.

A quote by literary figure Johannes R. Becher, first Minister of Culture of the GDR, supplies the title of this film about the 1982 International Book Art Exhibition. Sensitively composed images embed the IBA in the hustle and bustle of Leipzig. Old and new shots of the city, in black and white and in colour, take us to some of the 82 national booths of this book art contest, accompanied by atmospheric piano music.

Hannes, 22, and his girlfriend Tanja have to realize that there are things in their relationship that have an unfavourable effect on their togetherness; now they try to find out why their love should not last. Tilli, Hannes' 16-year-old sister, and her boyfriend Robert, on the other hand, just look sadly at the rest of their remaining pocket money and wish they could get rid of their money worries. But for Tilli's family with their seven children, who live in a district town in the GDR, it's not that easy. However, the extended family's life is not disrupted by problems, rather it is strengthened and the family's cohesion is intact.

In Scotland in 1751, young David Balfour is shanghaied aboard a ship where he meets Jacobite rebel Alan Breck Stewart with whom he escapes to the Scottish Highlands, dodging the redcoats.

Archive footage of bomb detonations during the Second World War combined with abstract graphic elements which show the destructive potential of modern nuclear missiles. Together the images are a silent warning of armament and war.

Düse, a clever tinkerer, has built himself a toy rocket. Due to the clumsiness of his friend Moppel, an uncontrolled launch is triggered and the rocket flies away. As it is nowhere to be found, the children and the tractor driver Hans suspect it is on its way to the moon.

Two people meet again by chance after years of separation: Monika and Winfried. Monika used to work as a sales clerk, now she works as a kindergarten teacher. She has a son by Winfried, but he knows nothing about it. Winfried graduated from university and went on to become a successful journalist. They were both very happy to see each other again and spend a nice day together. But despite all the things they have to tell each other, one thing remains central: why did they break up back then and can they make a new start together? Monika remembers the good times she had with Winfried years ago. Back then, Winfried was superior to her and had leased success. Today he is struggling with many problems in his job and it seems that Monika has "overtaken" him in many respects. But Winfried, currently an embittered man, is given a chance in the movie's story to regain human sovereignty. And perhaps one day he could even be a good father to his son, of whose existence he was previously unaware.