Ribnitz-Damgarten

Ribnitz-Damgarten 1989

1

Ribnitz-Damgarten, the jewel at the coast of the Baltic Sea, is located directly at the Saaler Bodden, between Stralsund and Rostock. The town and its surrounding area are made for vacationing. This documentary from 1989 also shows the other side, like, for example, how the increasing population density and the industrial production influence the ecological balance of the region. A community for the protection of the Bodden landscape is actively making an effort for conservation. At the institute for deep-sea fishery, research about the fish population is conducted, and agriculture as well is looking for solutions to preserve an intact environment.

1989

Love 2002

Love 2002 1972

5.00

The futuristically trendy moderator Chris Wallasch leads the viewer through this program exploring what love might look like in 2002. Passengers at the Berlin-Schönefeld airport are questioned about how they imagine life in thirty years. These interviews are surrounded by a clever and colorful potpourri of flashbacks and flashforwards dealing with the timeless issues of relationships and family.

1972

The Russian Miracle

The Russian Miracle 1963

8.00

Das russische Wunder (The Russian Miracle) (1963) is a two-part East German documentary directed by Annelie and Andrew Thorndike. The documentary chronicles Russia’s dramatic transformation from the Tsarist Empire to the Soviet Union, covering key historical moments including the 1917 October Revolution and the rise of Soviet communism. Through the use of archival footage, the film explores the socio-political upheavals that reshaped Russia and culminates in the achievements of the Soviet space program. Produced by DEFA, it was first broadcast on East German television in 1963, offering an insightful look at Russia's 20th-century evolution.

1963

Wilhelm Pieck - Das Leben unseres Präsidenten

Wilhelm Pieck - Das Leben unseres Präsidenten 1952

1

Basing his work on documentary material, Andrew Thorndike tells the life story of Wilhelm Pieck: from young worker to fighter for the German working class, and from enemy of national-socialism to the first president of the German Democratic Republic.

1952

After Winter Comes Spring

After Winter Comes Spring 1989

7.60

A locomotive journey traversing the North to the South of the German Democratic Republic on the eve of its dissolution. Labourers, punks, mothers, intellectuals, young and old are implored to reflect on their life choices, the sacrifices they've made, and their place in the world. Despite everything, hope persists.

1989

Der Apfel als solcher

Der Apfel als solcher 1979

1

Around 1 billion apples are harvested every year in Havelland, one of the largest fruit-growing regions in the GDR. In order to obtain this quantity in good quality, a large number of preparatory and maintenance operations are required. There are also reports on apprenticeships and practical work in the "Havelobst Central Youth Object". Impressions of the 100th Blossom Festival in Werder as well as myths and legends complete the apple theme.

1979

Auf der Oder

Auf der Oder 1970

10.00

Documentary reports on the annual icing of the Oder in the 160-kilometer border area between the GDR and the People's Republic of Poland. Icebreakers from both countries with experienced skippers join forces to make the international waterway between Frankfurt and Szczecin navigable again. Everyone works hard as a team and even a broken-down ship cannot stop them from achieving their goal. A look back at the winter of 1947 with its flooding shows what the freezing of the river and the subsequent thaw can do if the ice floes are not drained into the Baltic Sea via Lake Dammsch in good time. The skippers from both countries have known each other for years and trust each other; the camaraderie that has developed on the Oder unites the people, they control the river in winter for the common benefit of all.

1970

Streng vertraulich oder Die innere Verfassung

Streng vertraulich oder Die innere Verfassung 1990

1

A multi-layered documentary about the dissolution of the Ministry for State Security of the GDR: Fifty buildings, a thousand rooms, bunkers, its own prisons—the Berlin headquarters of the former Ministry for State Security. Workplaces of desk criminals, hunters, surveillance officers. A labyrinth of human alienation.

1990

Eine Nacht wie jede andere

Eine Nacht wie jede andere 1957

1

Black and white short documentary about the patrol of the EMW radio car "Toni 14" of the Berlin police.

1957

Geborgenheit im Alter

Geborgenheit im Alter 1981

1

Becoming old - the autumn of man's life is the same the world over, wherever he lives. But the way one spends old age is different everywhere, and distinguishes one society from another. How do senior citizens live in the GDR - what are pensioners lives like? Are they alone, forgotten or do they live with others? What is done in this country for the older generation, the generation which built up the country and which can now sit back?

1981

Look at this City

Look at this City 1962

5.00

Started in the summer of 1961, even before the Wall was built, the film becomes an explanation after this historical event as to why things can no longer go on as they were before. Unmistakably, as in almost all of Karl Gass' films, the passion with which he treats his subject is unmistakable. If you want to get to know the zeitgeist of the historically significant year 1961, which on both sides knew more the Cold War vocabulary than factual arguments, you can see the Eastern variant in this propaganda film.

1962

Frau am Klavichord

Frau am Klavichord 1981

1

With films including the 'rubble woman' portrait Martha, the three-part experimental film cycle Potter's Stier, Venus nach Giorgione and Frau am Klavichord, the portrait of the artist Kurzer Besuch bei Hermann Glöckner, and also the documentaries Rangierer and Die Küche, noted for their outstanding sound and visuals, Jürgen Böttcher distances himself yet further from the didactic tone and abstract heroic representation of socialist films.

1981

Martha

Martha 1979

1

Martha Bieder is the last rubble-woman in Berlin Rummelsburg. Every day, rain or shine, she stands at the conveyor belt - as she has for decades - sorting through rubble. After a retirement party thrown for her by her male colleagues, she tells her story of being a rubble-woman in post-war Germany.

1979

From Us To Me / Vom Wir zum Ich

From Us To Me / Vom Wir zum Ich 1988

8.00

This first co-production between the GDR and Great Britain is intended to contribute to an understanding of the situation and attitudes of millions of working people in opposing social orders. Using the example of shipyard workers, fishermen, the brigade and family of a trade union active cook and unemployed person of various ages and professions in Newcastle on the one hand and a brigade of crane operators of the Warnowwerft and fishermen of the Warnemünde cooperative on the other hand, insights into the way of life and attitudes of people of our time are to be conveyed.

1988

Hint from a Neighbor

Hint from a Neighbor 1966

1

A polemical report. "Way to the neighbors" is the motto of the Oberhausen Short Film Festival. In their "Remarks on the Oberhausen 66 Film Festival," the GDR documentarians Gerhard Scheumann and Walter Heynowski take the competition selection to task: They see formal experiments as "excesses on the big screen" and instead of political themes, they discover a "surge of perversity." After her own film "Kommando 52" was rejected by the festival, a criminal complaint by the GDR lawyer Friedrich-Karl Kaul against the mercenary and commander "Kongo-Müller" is the focus of a press conference. The refusal of a cinema owner to show the film was a "hint from the neighbors", the neighboring public order office, and therefore state censorship in the Federal Republic of Germany.

1966

In the Land of Eagles and Crosses

In the Land of Eagles and Crosses 1981

7.00

In this documentary, Joachim Hellwig uses partly unpublished footage to shed light on a dark chapter of German history and shows the entanglements between the politicians' claims to power and the interests of industry and business in Germany from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War (1914 to 1945). The Nuremberg War Crimes and Industrial Trials served as the basis for this documentary.

1981

whisper & SHOUT

whisper & SHOUT 1988

7.00

Documents important parts of the East German rock music scene of the late 1980s, from well-established bands like Silly, to underground rock bands like Feeling B. This road movie features young people using music to express their take on life, opposition to their parents' generation and opinions on the social and political climate in East Germany. It includes clips from concerts and interviews with fans and members of various bands, such as Feeling B's Christian Lorenz and Paul Landers, now members of Rammstein.

1988

Miss-Wahl

Miss-Wahl 1988

1

Short doc about the "Miss Berlin" beauty contest in 1987.

1988

Studentinnen

Studentinnen 1965

1

Young women made up only five per cent of students at the technical college in Ilmenau. The film devotes itself of this particular situation by conveying impressions of the women's everyday lives.

1965