That's How DEFA Sounded: Film Music from Babelsberg (2018)

Fotoshooting DDR - Bilder zwischen Propaganda und Alltag

Life in the GDR was not only documented on behalf of the state, but also by photographic artists and journalists. The documentary goes on a journey through time with some of them and shows little-known aspects of the GDR from its foundation to the fall of the Wall. Photographers in the GDR had a surprising amount of freedom; there was no explicit censorship of images. This allowed them to make visible what the state wanted to hide. This documentary presents two photographers who observed life in the GDR and whose work has been rediscovered in recent years.

Pride & Attitude

The viewpoints of women from a country that no longer exists preserved on low-band U-matic tape. GDR-FRG. Courageous, self-confident and emancipated: female industry workers talk about gaining autonomy.

In Syrien auf Montage

The film is a reportage showing the help of workers from the GDR in the industrial reconstruction of Syria. We witness the friendly relationship between workers from both countries, who are jointly involved in the construction of the cotton spinning mill in Homs. In impressive pictures the exoticism of the environment and the mentality of the Syrian hosts is shown. At the same time it becomes clear that the workers from the GDR become 'ambassadors of the GDR' through their collegial behaviour and good work.

Look Out!

Hard, harder, hardest! This film orders you from the start to turn up the volume and pay attention. "Look out! We're Coming to Get You!" is a flood of images driven by a tempest of guitars. The film's creators jam 20 years of German music history into 120 minutes of film. Musicians from BLIND PASSENGERS, DIE SKEPTIKER, SANDOW and other bands explode their way through the film. Fans of the DEFA documentary "Flüstern und Schreien" ("Whisper and Shout") already know the stars of that film, Aljoscha, Paul and Flake of the band Feeling B. Here they have a chance to see how these musicians survived the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the "escalation of possibilities" that came with it. And you're allowed to laugh, too!

Becoming Black

In the 1960s, a white couple living in East Germany tells their dark-skinned child that her skin color is merely a coincidence. As a teenager, she accidentally discovers the truth. Years before, a group of African men came to study in a village nearby. Sigrid, an East German woman, fell in love with Lucien from Togo and became pregnant. But she was already married to Armin. The child is Togolese-East German filmmaker Ines Johnson-Spain. In interviews with Armin and others from her childhood years, she tracks the astonishing strategies of denial her parents, striving for normality, developed following her birth. What sounds like fieldwork about social dislocation becomes an autobiographical essay film and a reflection on themes such as identity, social norms and family ties, viewed from a very personal perspective.

Hotel Astoria

At Hotel Astoria, the former hotspot of Leipzig, guests were served champagne and turtle soup while the Stasi listened in. Animated memories from times gone by.

Paradies der Tiere

On the 160-hectare grounds of the former Friedrichsfelde Palace Park, the Berlin Animal Park was established in the 1950s with the active support of the local population. In 1980, more than 7,800 animals from all continents live here. The film describes the foundation, the construction and the care of the animals in the extensive park.

Bowlingtreff

The “Bowlingtreff” is a bowling alley situated right in the centre of Leipzig opened in July 1987. At that time the quality of life in Leipzig and the whole GDR got worse. Houses collapsed because of poor conditions, public life and amusement was on a very low level. The “Bowlingtreff” was not merely an urban entertainment centre but a revolution in those days. Built with the help of hundreds of volunteers without permission of the state authorities in Berlin the building expresses a free and international architecture known as postmodernism. It is an architecture that was never seen before in Leipzig. Marble and parquet on the floor, a glass roof and beautiful pink pillars. The atmosphere was western as time witnesses remember it.

Kommen Rührgeräte in den Himmel?

Plot unavailable

3 1/2 Hours

August 13, 1961: The passengers on the interzonal train from Munich to East Berlin learn 3½ hours before crossing the border that the Wall is being built in Berlin. They have 3½ hours to make a life-changing decision: to get off the train or keep going.

Murder on Monday

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.

Tomorrow We Are Free

Iran 1979. The Islamic Revolution is shaking up the country. Dissident Omid, who lived for several years in the German Democratic Republic with his wife, chemical engineer Beate and their mutual daughter, hears the call from his homeland and returns to Teheran with high hopes and best intentions, bringing along his family.

Next Year at Lake Balaton

Jonas and Ines are in love and want to spend their vacation together camping on the Baltic coast. But Ines’s narrow-minded parents intervene and insist that the young couple joins the family vacation. Problems arise, so everyone ends up traveling to the Bulgarian Black Sea on their own. Along the way, Jonas meets a beautiful Dutch girl who is going to India via Turkey…

Nobody Can Stop the Revolution

Combining collage animation and live action, this short depicts the achievements of the Chilean people under the Allende government and the subsequent reversal of this progress following the military coup. The collages were created by East German media artist Lutz Dammbeck; the Chilean artists Juan Forch and Vivienne Barry did the animation.

Sugar Sand

End of the 1970s in East Germany: Fred and Jonas are close friends. The 10-year-olds live near at the German-German frontier. After the mother from Jonas has made an exit application, the boys have to recognize that they are soon separated from each other. But they want to dig a tunnel to Australia to meet there themselves again. When Jonas should leave the country with his mother this night changes everything.

Chile

This short animation collage uncovers the financial backing of the Chilean Junta bosses by the US. Screened at the 1976 Oberhausen Int. Film Festival.

Kranke Geschäfte

Armin Glaser, a lieutenant in the Stasi, lives with his wife Marie and daughter Kati in Karl-Marx-Stadt. They put their sick daughter in the care of Dr. Sigurd. But Armin becomes suspicious during the treatments. He uses his rank in the Stasi to obtain information. But the closer he gets to the truth, the more skeptical he becomes. He suspects that the GDR is allowing West German pharmaceutical companies to test drugs on East German clinic patients.

Ach du meine Liebe

Detlev, a single insurance clerk in his 30s, is kept dependent by his loving and caring mother and loses his girlfriend Karin as a result. Grief and an alcoholic chance acquaintance prompt him to place an ad for marriage. Detlev gets caught up in a whirlwind of friendships and love affairs: with the caring widow Karin; the well-to-do hair salon owner Ute Schöbel; the cultural editor Norma Goldbach, the photo reporter Kerstin and the student Andrea Binz. Detlev, who initially proves himself as a friend and advisor, but also as a lover, becomes increasingly self-confident. He is also successful in his work and finally emancipates himself from his mother. Although he loses "his" women in a turbulent odyssey, Detlev has transformed himself from a mama's boy into a thoroughly acceptable man.

Atomic Blonde

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

The Girl in the Lift

Frank, a tenth grade student, falls in love with his classmate Regine. His father is a well-connected plant manager in the GDR; Regine's mother is a single parent with four children. Regine wants to become a kindergarten teacher, but her grades are poor and she is not allowed to apply for technical college. Frank champions her and seeks an open discussion about these rigid regulations. But his criticism is nipped in the bud.

Chile Lives

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

Con Mum

A chef's life is upended when a jet-setting, champagne-sipping, hotel-hopping woman claims to be his long-lost mother. This documentary reveals the untold story.

Au nom des jaguars

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Seen

“SEEN” is a groundbreaking feature-length documentary that not only explores the transformative power of personal healing for parents but also delves into the scientifically supported effects of such healing on parenting and its impact on child brain development. By focusing on the unexplored aspect of parents confronting their own childhood coping mechanisms, “SEEN” is poised to fill a significant gap in current narratives. It promises not just compelling storytelling but also the potential for profound societal impact, making it an appealing proposition for those looking to invest in content that drives change.

Winged Migration

This documentary follows various migratory bird species on their long journeys from their summer homes to the equator and back, covering thousands of miles and navigating by the stars. These arduous treks are crucial for survival, seeking hospitable climates and food sources. Birds face numerous challenges, including crossing oceans and evading predators, illness, and injury. Although migrations are undertaken as a community, birds disperse into family units once they reach their destinations, and every continent is affected by these migrations, hosting migratory bird species at least part of the year.

Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes

The historical saga of American superheroes. Born in the period between the Great Depression and the World War II to combat the hobgoblins of the modern world, these mutant human beings with superhuman powers colonized the funny papers, radio dramas, television and films, to become a truly national industry in the United States: they gave expression to the fears and obsessions of the twentieth century and bolstered American ideals.