Themes & Genres
© DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst
© DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst
In the 1970s, East Germany finally achieved international recognition as a state. The films of the 1970s show signs of trends in fashion, politics and popular culture that were sweeping the globe. Many focused on the experience of women—at work, with children, in love—and their longing for fulfillment: Too Young for Love, Until Death Do Us Part, and the box-office hit The Legend of Paul and Paula. Some won awards at prestigious international festivals, such as Her Third (Venice Film Festival) and Solo Sunny (Berlin International Film Festival), and Jacob the Liar became the only DEFA film ever nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In addition to the continued production of genre films were costume films with high budgets—such as Goya, a co-production with the USSR shot in 70mm. While Konrad Wolf finally succeeded in getting his banned 1957 film Sun Seekers released, other films were put on ice—including one of the first DEFA films made by a female director, The Dove on the Roof.