Our Short Life
(Unser kurzes Leben)
Unser kurzes Leben © DEFA-Stiftung, Klaus Goldmann
| Warneke, Lothar |
| Bereska, Jan |
| Höntsch, Andreas |
| Warneke, Lothar |
| Kühn, Regine |
| Müller, Christa |
| Lehmphul, Erika |
| Neumann, Claus |
| Hirschmeier, Alfred |
| Dorst, Christiane |
| Henschel, Herbert |
| Leitzmann, Ruth |
| Welzel, Brigitte |
| Zucholowsky, Frank |
| Rosenfeld, Gerhard |
| Kreinbrink, Hans-Joachim |
| Beyer, Hermann |
| Dittus, Barbara |
| Frost, Simone |
| Gütschow, Gert |
| Haase, Annemone |
| Knust, Dieter |
| Kockisch, Uwe |
| Körner, Dietrich |
| Richter, Gottfried |
| Schorn, Christine |
| Staiger, Gerd |
| Steyer, Christian |
| Straßburger, Helmut |
| Hartwig, Horst |
| DEFA Studio for Feature Films |
Synopsis
The fun-loving, 26-year-old architect Franziska Linkerhand (Simone Frost) works for a famous professor. Yet, she feels restrained by her dependence on him and longs to take risks. When her marriage falls apart, she moves to a small town for a fresh start. Franziska approaches her new life with vigor and idealism. Many of her colleagues have given in to the dictates of economic restrictions and prefabricated apartment blocks; but Franziska hangs onto her ideals and, as in her private life, is not willing to compromise…
Commentary
Brigitte Reimann’s bestselling semi-autobiographical novel, Franziska Linkerhand, became a cult hit in both East and West Germany. Readers were fascinated with the radical, emancipated, sensitive protagonist who passionately rebels against social assumptions and contradictions.
Awards
| 1982 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Helmut Straßburger), GDR National Feature Film Festival, Karl-Marx-Stadt |
| 1982 | Best Editor (Erika Lehmphul), GDR National Feature Film Festival, Karl-Marx-Stadt |
| 1981 | Art Prize of the Free German Trade Union Federation (Regine Kühn, Christa Müller, Claus Neumann, Lothar Warneke) |
| 1981 | Special Prize of the Soviet Association of Visual Arts, Moscow International Feature Film Festival |
Availability
- Turn Subtitles On/Off
- New digitally restored transfer
- Biographies & Filmographies
- “Our Short Life: Building and Dwelling in Late Socialism,” by Hunter Bivens, Univ. of California Santa Cruz
- Lothar Warneke on Our Short Life, 1999, 7 min.
- “Finding the Right Path in Our Short Life We Are Given,” Director Lothar Warneke in Conversation with Film Historian Erika Richter, 2001-2004. Written interview.
- “Designing Meaningful Spaces: Alfred Hirschmeier’s Scenography for Our Short Life,” by Annette Dorgerloh, Humboldt University Berlin
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