Films: GDR/Germany

Veitstanz/Feixtanz - Veitstanz/Feixtanz (1988)

The tradition of St Vitus’ Dance (Veitstanz) first appeared in the Middle Ages, when groups of adults and children had danced in public until they lost consciousness. In 1988, 13 women and men revisited the power of this ancient ritual in Erfurt, East Germany. Each of them developed their own movement combined with a noise-sound collage and danced at a place of their choice. They repeated the movement to the point of ecstasy. An experimental exploration of body and space.

 

Trigger warning: nudity.

Rights: ex.oriente.luc Archive and director

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It'll Be OK - Alles wird gut (1987)

Director Bernd Sahling documents almost four years in the life of a young man who experienced two political systems, East and West Germany, and cannot fulfill his dreams in either of them.

 

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Kuhle Wampe Bonus Features - (mult)

This playlist includes three short documentaries that are relevant for understanding director Slatan Dudow’s Weimar-era film classic Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932).

 

 

How the Berliner Worker Lives

 

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Art Unleashed: Experiments on Film by Lutz Dammbeck - (1978)

This 2-DVD set with a collection of five early short films made by German director and media artist Lutz Dammbeck introduces the formative period of an artist who remains one of Germany’s boldest and most innovative creators. The films testify to the artist’s attempts to break with prevailing trends and establish new multimedia art concepts and exhibition practices in the GDR. They also open a window onto East Germany’s experimental art scene, of which Dammbeck was a central member.

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First Leipzig Autumn Salon - 1. Leipziger Herbstsalon (1984)

In fall 1984, six young Leipzig artists—Lutz Dammbeck, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, Günter Firit, Frieder Heinze, Günther Huniat—secretly organized the sensational exhibition they called 1. Leipziger Herbstsalon (First Leipzig Autumn Salon) as a protest against official art exhibitions and failed reforms in the East German art system. The private exhibition lasted almost a month and challenged the authority of cultural officials.

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March Brandenburg, Inc. - Märkische Gesellschaft mbH (1991)

The final installment of Volker Koepp's March Brandenburg trilogy moves away from the town of Zehdenick in order to focus on rural areas north of Berlin. Made in the period between the currency union in the GDR and the official reunification in October 1990, the film shows how the lives of the residents have changed: Crippling unemployment has taken the place of hard work. 

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Rhinestones - Der Strass (1990)

East Berlin, 1989: 30-year-old photojournalist Georg follows the beautiful and mysterious dancer Ms. Albena. Blinded by love, he dreams about her. His imagination and reality—a world in the midst of radical social changes—get mixed up.

 

This feature film was loosely based on an article called "Der Strass" (Rhinestones), which appeared in the Sonntag weekly paper in 1985.

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The Cave of Hercules - Herakles Höhle (1990)

Although Dammbeck’s original film project Herakles (Hercules) was rejected by the East German DEFA Studios in 1983-84, the artist was still fascinated by the Hercules story. He started experimenting with different media combinations, including overpainting, photography, film clips, collage, painting and movement. These experiments resulted in groundbreaking multi-media collaborations and this film, in which Dammbeck explores a series of questions inspired by the classical figure of Hercules. Who was the legendary hero? Is there a new Hercules today?

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A Dance Through Time: Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin - Ein Tanz durch die Zeit – Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin (2006)

This collection of documentaries tells the story of the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, a central location for the city’s mixture of cultural, leisurely, war, occupation and political histories.

 

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