Vienna, 1813-1819: Beethoven (played by Donatas Banionis) is at the peak of his fame. Orchestras all over the world play his music, but he lives modestly and is dependent upon private patrons.
This documentary about renowned (East) German poet, playwright, and theater direct Bertold Brecht discusses the importance of his works in the social and political context of post-war Germany.
This 12-DVD set is designed to accompany the book East German Cinema – DEFA and Film History, by Sebastian Heiduschke (Oregon State University), published by Palgrave Macmillan in October 2013.
This 11-DVD set is designed to accompany the book Last Features: East German Cinema’s Lost Generation (Camden House in 2014), by Reinhild Steingröver (Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester).
During the 16th Workers' Festival in Dresden in 1976, a student group of Chilean emigrants paints a mural symbolically depicting the activity of the Unidad Popular during Salvador Allende's reign. Festival guests comment on this work.
East Berlin, summer 1989: A young East Berliner navigates the final months of the GDR. Enrico has quit his apprenticeship to focus on the punk band Sperrmüll (Bulky Trash), which he founded with three friends from their high-rise housing development.
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
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.
A detailed reconstruction of the censorship case against the landmark Weimar-era communist film, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932).
Workers, employees, technicians and engineers from the Karl Marx Plant in Magdeburg came together to found an amateur circus. As acrobats, clowns and musicians, they rehearse in preparation for a public performance at their workplace.