Carola has been running the family-owned circus alone since her husband’s death, but she suddenly finds herself at odds with her three adult sons who are also performance artists and want to have a say in how the business is run. The family discord leads Carola to turn her back on the circus, lea
This two-part epic traces the development of a manor and farm in Mecklenburg, from the flight of its aristocratic landowners before the advancing Soviet troops in 1945, to just after the East German uprising of June 17, 1953, by which time it has become an agricultural cooperative.
This first East German animation film ever made is an entertaining look at fans and opponents of "American" music styles that fueled political debate and a generation gap in the GDR.
This DVD compilation chronicles the year 1958 through film.
The poor charcoal burner Peter Monk summons the good spirit of the forest to help him overcome his outsider stigma, which above all, prevents him from marrying his beloved Lisbeth. Despite the good spirit’s help, Peter squanders his wealth and loses everything.
This episodic film tells five self-contained stories of women around the world, shot by five different filmmaking teams under the artistic supervision of DEFA director Joris Ivens.
This short documentary calls for compliance with labor protection laws during rubble clearance and reconstruction work. A construction site on Wernerstraße in Berlin is used to to concretely illustrate the positive effects of these laws.
Corinna Schmidt comes from an impoverished yet well-known family in late nineteenth-century Berlin. During a social gathering at the home of the Treibel family, Corinna meets the young son, Leopold, who asks for her hand in marriage.
The chemist Dr. Hans Scholz lives through a tortuous political transformation and maturation process. Eventually, he adopts political neutrality and closes his eyes to the fact that the poison being produced in his factory is being used in the extermination camps.
Rudi Prange intends to have a fresh beginning once he is released from prison, and he’s off to a good start with a new job at a transportation company. Yet, despite his good intentions, Rudi is pulled into a smuggling incident by a colleague.