DEFA-Studio für Trickfilme

With the young Friedrich Engel’s letters and drawings from the years between 1838 and 1842, a unique cinematic portrait is created. The viewer thus gets to know the young Engels personally, learning about the significant moments of his development from a bourgeois-liberal upbringing to the theoretical partner of Karl Marx. Later be awarded the Gold Dove at the International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week.

Puppets play the story based on the famous children's song.

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

The very first images in the film set unprecedented standards in East German animated film: a Buñuelean eye that fills the entire screen, real-life sequences of fleeing animals and a sound collage running contrary to what is seen on the screen. This also extends to the protagonist of the film, a head on a foot without a body or arms who pads wearily through the depressing surroundings. Upon seeing various figures in the sky, he begins to copy their movements. To his surprise, he himself manages to grow wings and takes to the skies. But his attempt at flight ends in a sobering manner however, as it is revealed that flying creatures are just restricted in their range.

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

The factories pollute the air so much that every living creature in town must wear a gas mask if they want to survive.

Knurri, the little rabbit, and his family want to sell eggs at the market. Knurri takes his sweet time and discovers too late that he lost some eggs to the hungry badger. Nobody wants to buy eggs from the rabbit family. Only when Knurri suggests to color the eggs does business takes off and everybody is happy.

A young merchant's son spends his entire fortune to be able to throw lavish parties with his cronies. All he has left in the end is an old magic suitcase that can be used to fly.

Animated fairy tale about the mountain ghost Rübezahl and his dealing with a thieving shoemaker.

When Martin returns from war, he finds that nothing is the way it once was. He watches a few remaining villagers leave offerings in the town square for a giant monster, and he sees that whoever has nothing left for the monster is turned into stone. To make matters worse, Martin finds out that his fiancee, Maria, is being held captive in the monster's Black Fortress.

Caliph Harun al-Rashid was turned into a stork by a power-greedy rival. Only with the help of his wise vizier and a beautiful princess is he able to escape the spell. Based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.

For the multimedia exhibition Tangenten I (Tangents I), Dammbeck and co-organizer, sculptor and painter Frieder Heinze had planned to collaborate on a film that would combine non-camera animation with 35mm footage of a train ride between the two Dresden districts of Radebeul and Pieschen. When the exhibition was banned in 1978, Heinze turned to other projects, but Dammbeck continued working on the film by himself. Metamorphoses I—the first experimental film ever to be shown publicly in East Germany—marks the filmic beginning of Dammbeck’s long-term art project the Herakles-Konzept (Hercules Concept).