Upcoming Film Events

This fall, to round out the German film program of 2010, we will be presenting the Fall DEFA Dialogues: 5 (Re)Discoveries, which includes

2 U.S. premieres (!).

More info

DEFA Dialogue #1: LOCKED UP TIME

(Germany 1991, Dir. Sibylle Schönemann, 94 min.); Nov. 14, 3pm, Whittenberger Auditorium

One of East Germany's few female filmmakers hunts down the secret police who imprisoned her in 1984. A bitter and moving reckoning with the recent past, the documentary has been rereleased in Germany this year.

Presented by DEFA Foundation (Berlin) Director Helmut Morsbach

DEFA Dialogue #2: CARBIDE AND SORREL

(GDR 1963, Dir. Frank Beyer, 85 min.); Nov. 15, 7pm, Fine Arts Auditorium 015

Set in the summer of 1945, the film centers on factory worker Kalle’s adventurous and comical journey through postwar Germany in search of sorrel for his workplace. This film by one of East Germany’s top directors reached over 1 million viewers in a three-month period and inspired generations of GDR film students looking for ways to subvert the state studio system.

Q & A with filmmaker Peter Kahane and radio star and film critic Knut Elstermann (RadioEins Berlin)

DEFA Dialogue #3: VORSPIEL [Foreplay/Prelude/Acting] *U.S. Premiere

(GDR 1987, Dir. Peter Kahane, 92 min.); Nov. 16, 7pm, Fine Arts Auditorium 015

Youth in the GDR provinces, shortly before the fall of the Wall. A new girl moves to town from East Berlin, and Tom is in love. As he tries to impress her, he discovers his own talent for acting and the true love right before his eyes. The film’s humorous and honest portrayal of young people explores themes that transcend overt political messages. At the same time, the film offers a critique of the status quo at the end of the Cold War.

Q & A with filmmaker Peter Kahane and radio star and film critic Knut Elstermann (RadioEins Berlin) *Bring your high schoolers!!!

DEFA Dialogue #4: WINDOWS ON MONDAY [20 Years of Ö-Film]

(Germany 2006, Dir. Ulrich Köhler, 92 min.); Dec. 1, 7pm, Fine Arts Auditorium 015

A new house, a new city—It could be a happy moment for a family. Nina takes time off work while her husband works on the house, but she feels alienated in the empty rooms and leaves without warning. This story about the dramas and non-dramas of life in contemporary Germany is one of the finest works to come out of Germany’s new arthouse cinema aesthetic, the Berlin School.

Q & A with professors Claudia Breger and Brigitta Wagner

DEFA Dialogue # 5: SAMMELSURIUM [20 Years of Ö-Film] *U.S. Premiere

(Germany 1992, Dir. Volker Koepp, 108 min.); Dec. 2, 7pm, Fine Arts Auditorium 015

This fascinating documentary explores the GDR as a kingdom of traders in second hand goods. Buildings, statues, and films that should have been as eternal as Soviet friendship now survive as traces and objects of a much needed archaeology.

Q & A with professors Ben Robinson and Brigitta Wagner