GDR Photo Shoot: Propaganda and Daily Life

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.

Drei Frauen

Vita Brevis Ars Longa

In the midst of a pandemic, government arbitrariness and the precariousness of Brazilian artists, the documentary shows how these four rappers resisted the difficulties of this period using only one weapon... music. Using plurality, creativity and cleverness, how did they produce music? What role did music play in this period? What did they have to do to stay alive as rappers?

Océano Negro

Carlos Carreto, photographer, and María Fernández, painter, join forces to bring forth the exhibition “Océano Negro”. A brief journey not only through their work, but also within themselves. An excuse to talk about water in all its forms and provocations. Rain, clouds, reflections, distortion... everything is water to be shaped with the gaze.

Echoes from the Tian Shan

Immer bereit

Documentary (in colour) about the first youth meeting (Deutschlandtreffen der Jugend) in East Berlin in 1950.

Es lebe die R...

In interviews, several important GDR personalities and also GDR citizens comment on the events of October 1989.

CORRES

Gutierres

Amo-te quando a neblina te transporta

A Arte de Ser

Alice and Horst

Alice and Horst paints a moving portrait of two siblings from Saarbrücken whose lives were shaped by their family’s antifascist resistance. As children, Alice Hornung and Horst Bernard were forced to flee from the Nazis into exile in France, where, despite constant danger, they also experienced great solidarity. After their return they continued their parents’ political commitment: against fascism, for peace and disarmament. The film combines personal memories with rare archival footage and portrays two individuals who, well into old age, remain unwavering in their commitment to justice and remembrance.

Die Randgemeinschaft

Change of Scenery

Born in Germany in 2002, Noa Blanche Beschorner evokes the memory of those who, a generation before her, lived through the separation of East and West Germany. Tapetenwechsel (Change of Scenery) is the story of youth seeking their identity when confronting their collective memory.

Carlos

That's How DEFA Sounded: Film Music from Babelsberg

When people think of DEFA, the film heritage of the GDR, they probably don't just think of film images, but also some of the timeless melodies that were created in Babelsberg.

East German Schlager is dead. Long live the East German Schlager!

Siegfried "Siggi" Trzoß, a radio moderator from East Berlin, is working tirelessly leading up to his anniversary and 900th show. The music his heart burns for is East German Schlager, a genre politically ignored at first and widely forgotten now. But Siggi keeps the dream alive to this day, making the hearts of seniors jump higher in nostalgia all over east Germany.

Zeitgenössische Fotografie in Amerika

DDR - die entsorgte Republik

Les 24 heures du Mans - L’histoire d’une course mythique

Since its establishment in 1923, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has dominated the world of motor racing, presenting a daunting challenge for competitors who have to push themselves to their physical limits. Let's revisit the history of this legendary 13.6-kilometer circuit with drivers Kévin Estre, Antonio Fuoco, Timo Bernhard, and Mick Schumacher, son of the seven-time world champion with fascinating behind-the-scenes moments.