Public Film Series, 17- 22 July 2011
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Films shown with English subtitles or English voice over.
Organized by the DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst
All listed screenings and events are open and free to the public.
All screenings are with English subtitles or in read English voice over.
SUNDAY JULY 17, 2011
4:00 – 5:45 pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
KEYNOTE LECTURE: “East Germany’s Third World”
by Prof. Young-Sun Hong, SUNY Stony Brook
8:00 pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
THE DOVE ON THE ROOF (Die Taube auf dem Dach) NORTH AMERICAN DVD PREMIERE!
GDR/Germany, 1973/2010, Dir. Iris Gusner, 82 min., b&w
Most in Linda’s construction site team are men, so perhaps it is
no wonder that she falls in love—not with one, but with two of
them…. Officials banned this debut film for what they considered
its “unrealistic picture of East German life.” It did not
become widely available in Germany until 2010.
MONDAY JULY 18, 2011
2:30pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
THE COMPASS ROSE (Die Windrose) •
GDR, 1956, Artistic Dirs. Joris Ivens, Alberto Calvacanti; Dirs. Wu
Kuo-Yin, Yannick Bellon, Gillo Pontecorvo, Alex Viany, Sergei
Gerassimov; 104 min., b&w
Five filmmakers each tell a story about the life of a woman – in
Brazil, France, China, Italy and the Soviet Union. This episode
film’s remarkable international team included authors Jorge
Amado, Franco Solinas, Vladimir Pozner and Maximilian Schell
(prologue), and actors Simone Signoret, Yves Montand and Helene Weigel
(prologue). This production is an exceptional example of how
international elements were brought into play by the East German DEFA
film studio.
8:00pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
TIME IN THE JUNGLE (Dschungelzeit) •
GDR/Vietnam, 1987, Dirs. Jörg Foth, Tran Vu, 95 min., color
Armin is one of 20,000 Germans who joined the French Foreign Legion
(1946-1954). In Vietnam in 1949-50, he decides to desert and support
the Vietnamese liberation movement. Wanted by the legion, he flees to
the liberated zone. One day, he reads a flyer signed by the GDR
government….
TUESDAY JULY 19, 2011
8:15pm, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College
ENCOUNTERS WITH THE GDR (Begegnungen mit der DDR) •
GDR, 1979, 40 min., color, doc.
THE GDR, YOUR PARTNER IN TRADE (Handelspartner DDR) •
GDR, 1986, 21 min., color, doc.
These two films were commissioned by the East German Ministry for
Foreign Affairs to present an image of East Germany as economically
powerful and socially and culturally sophisticated to the international
community. These films were never screened for ordinary East Germans.
Introduced by Prof. Thomas Maulucci, American International College, Springfield
WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 2011
CHILDREN’S FILMS!
2:30pm, Pleasant Street Theater, 27 Pleasant Street, Northampton
A SNOWMAN FOR AFRICA (Ein Schneemann für Afrika) – Recommended age: 9 (subtitles) •
GDR, 1977, Dir. Rolf Losanky, 84 min., color
Asina, a little African girl, eagerly awaits Karli, a young sailor from
Rostock who has promised her a special gift the next time he comes. He
is bringing her a snowman! An internationally-awarded children’s
classic.
Introduced by Prof. Benita Blessing, Faculty Research Fellow, DEFA Film Library
8:00pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
THE GOLDEN YURT (Die goldene Jurte) – Recommended for all ages •
GDR/ Mongolia, 1961, Dirs. Gottfried Kolditz, Rabschaa Dordschpalam, 78 min., color.
Herder Pagwa has to guard a mysterious chest. It must never be opened,
or else a drought will overcome his valley of the Red Flowers. Based on
a Mongolian folktale, this film features the colorful traditions and
magical landscape of this
part of the world.
THURSDAY JULY 21, 2011
2:00pm, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College
FAR FROM KLEIN WANZLEBEN (Jenseits von Klein Wanzleben)
GDR, 1989, Dir. Andreas Dresen, 53 min., color, doc.
An East German “Friendship Brigade” in Zimbabwe. Between
their imported smugness and best intentions, they teach Africans
construction trades. A student film by the acclaimed German filmmaker
Andreas Dresen (Cloud 9, Stopped on Track).
3:00pm, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College
THE SCOUT (Der Scout)
GDR/Mongolia, 1982, Dirs. Konrad Petzold, Dshamjangijn Buntar, 100 min., color
1877: Settlements of white farmers are forcing the peaceful Nez Perce
tribe onto a reservation. When soldiers steal the Native
Americans’ horses, chief White Feather decides to get them back.
One of twelve so-called Indianerfilm starring Serbian actor Gojko Mitic.
8:00pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
WERE THE EARTH NOT ROUND (Wäre die Erde nicht rund) •
GDR, 1981, Dir. Iris Gusner, 87 min., color
Christiane, from East Germany, and Hatem, from Syria, meet and fall in
love while studying in Moscow. As they contemplate a future together,
they realize that Christiane would not be able to work as a scientist
in Syria. A semi-autobiographical drama by the director of The Dove on the Roof.
FRIDAY JULY 22, 2011
2:00pm, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith
AFGHANISTAN 1362 – MEMORIES OF A JOURNEY (Afghanistan 1362 - Erinnerungen an eine Reise) •
GDR, 1985, Dir. Volker Koepp, 52 min., color, doc.
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 with GDR consent. Four
years later, this film team met people with a range of different social
and ethnic backgrounds in Kabul and the provinces. This travelogue took
a political risk, as it reflects the director’s doubts that
conflicts between countries can be solved by military invention.
3:00pm, Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall, Smith College
NAMIBIA – RETURN TO A NEW COUNTRY (Namibia - Rückkehr in ein neues Land) •
Germany, 1997, Dir. Christoph Schuch, 83 min., color, doc.
The young people interviewed in this film reflect on the experience of
the almost 500 Namibians who spent their childhoods in East Germany.
Returned to newly liberated Namibia in the year of German unification
in 1990, they discuss their sense of identity and the difficulties they
face fitting into society.
8:00pm, Graham Auditorium, Hillyer Hall, Smith College
MY DEATH IS NOT YOURS (Mein Tod ist nicht dein Tod)
Germany, 2006, Dir. Lars Barthel, 86 min., color, doc.
A poetic account of the director’s journey into the memory of a
haunting, enduring love. Lars Barthel met Chetna Vora, the daughter of
an Indian communist parliamentarian, while studying directing in East
Germany. They worked together, married and had a child… before
eventually going their own ways.
• = NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
For more information, please contact
DEFA Film Library
Phone (413) 545-6681
www.umass.edu/defa
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