As this year is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, the Goethe-Institut and the New Zealand Film Societies are delighted to present this selection of films from East German studio DEFA shedding a fascinating light on an era still too frequently portrayed in broad Cold War brushstrokes:

Berlin-Schönhauser Corner
Berlin-Ecke Schönhauser
Director: Gerhard Klein, East Germany 1957

This classic teen cult film was the GDR’s answer to Rebel without a Cause, offering a perceptive social portrait of a city whose political and economic divisions affected its entire population. Greeted with suspicion by cultural authorities, the film was instantly embraced by the East German public for its truthful portrayal of everyday life.

I Was Nineteen
Ich war neunzehn
Director: Konrad Wolf, East Germany 1968

A wartime story based on director Konrad Wolf’s own experience. After taking refuge from Nazi Germany with his family in the Soviet Union, a 17-year-old marches west from Moscow with the Red Army. He arrives in Germany as a lieutenant aged 19 to witness the fall of Berlin.

Her Third
Der Dritte
Director: Egon Günther, East Germany 1972

An engaging story that reveals East German cinema’s forward-thinking engagement with feminist issues. Told in a series of flashbacks, it recounts 18 years of a woman’s life. After two failed relationships, each producing a child, Margit finally discovers independence.

The Architects
Architekten
Director: Peter Kahane, East Germany 1990

Filmed as the GDR crumbled, this finely drawn portrait of life in East Berlin depicts a young architect whose circumstances and goals are strangled by Communist dogma, represented in part by the older generation.

June - August 2009
nationwide
Members free - Public by donation