This short documentary about quality products made in the GDR was commissioned by the East German Foreign Ministry.
A parable about the “wanderlust of the confined GDR citizen,” filmed in October 1989, when no one foresaw the coming changes.
Böttcher paints over postcards of Renaissance master paintings and films this process of artistic modification that creates lively images with new dimensions. The only avant-garde experimental films ever made at the East German state-run DEFA film studios.
Sailor Felix Striebel visits the fresh grave of "Mother Magdalena" during his vacation. This brings back memories of his childhood: the tree of Magdalene was an oak named after the district nurse Magda and stood as a symbol of stability and security.
In 1955 Michael Vierkant, a Jew who emigrated during the Nazi-era, returns to the BRD to obtain the judgment of the former denouncer Korn, who was responsible for the murder of his sister.
A documentary on Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and his contemporary relevance in the GDR.
With massive amounts of luggage, a man hurries up onto the railway platform. Once he arrives, the announcements on the loudspeaker send him from one platform to another. Resigned and exhausted, he takes a seat on a bench, feeds the pigeons, and eventually flies off with them.
This documentary uses archival footage to trace the rise and fall of fasciscm, using Nazi Germany as a case study.
In the Dutch town of Saardam, Tsar Peter the Great has disguised himself in order to learn the art of ship-building. Another Russian named Peter also works at the wharf, causing a comical case of mistaken identities.
Two men sit on the top of a roof, playing the tuba. They continually call out absurd messages making fun of official solutions and of their own slogans.