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DEFA – Films from a forgotten country

Sun, 17. 3., 11:00Sun, 17. 3., 19:30

84‘

Female directors of the DEFA studio of animation in Dresden

Curated and presented by Sabine Scholze (co-founder and board member of the German Institute of Animated Film)

On the 30-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we rediscover the most productive women artists of the DEFA animation studios of the former GDR.

We are showing original archival prints of films by Sieglinde Hamacher, who never shied away from controversial issues and whose ‘films continue to be a clever invitation for discourse even today thanks to their subject-matter and creative and artistic strength’ (curator Sabine Scholze). Her fellow filmmakers Marion Rasche, Katja Georgi, Monika Anderson and Bärbel Eckhold also explored new ways of visual expression. Let’s go back in time and watch the stories told by the women animators of this ‘lost country’.

© Defa-Stiftung, Helmut Krahnert

Seven Rights of a Viewer

Marion Rasche
GDR
1982,
2‘

There is so much you can do in the darkness of the cinema: you can chat, knit, sleep, smooch, or quietly steal off. A funny short about all the things cinema-goers get up to.

©Defa-Stiftung, Brigitte Schönberner

Contrasts

Sieglinde Hamacher
GDR
1982,
4‘

A lot can be seen in a drop of water falling from a leaf: things both wonderful and terrible, joyful and sad, tales of becoming and perishing. The film’s abstract approach was vehemently rejected by the cultural powers-that-be and even the negative was destroyed. The director was able to save one working copy, from which a positive was made in 1990.

©Defa-Stiftung

The Truth About the Frog Prince

Sieglinde Hamacher
GDR
1986,
7‘

A funny take on the Frog Prince tale: The princess deliberately throws her golden ball into the well to get herself the man of her dreams. However, the story soon takes some unexpected turns and twists. A humorous deconstruction of the ‘perfect man’.

©Defa-Stiftung

The musicians

Katja Georgi
GDR
1964,
4‘

Four gentlemen are completely absorbed in the music they are playing, noticing neither that one of them is arrested nor that their house is destroyed in a military operation. A cut-out animation with its own political agenda.

©Defa-Stiftung, Lutz Kleber

The old turtle’s great journey

Bärbel Eckhold
GDR
1989,
2‘

Passion can move mountains: The old turtle absolutely loves the can-can and is determined to go to Paris. Made by a director more widely known for children’s films, this short is remarkable for its artistic approach and the creative design by Maja Nagel, a Sorbian artist and graduate of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts.

©Defa-Stiftung, Rolf Hofmann

City – At the window

Otto Sacher/Marion Rasche
GDR
1979,
6‘

A girl stands alone at the window and contemplates her relationship after spending the night with her lover. Marion Rasche’s animated oil paintings fade into each other, creating a charming backdrop for the surprise hit by the Berlin rock band ‘City’.

©Defa-Stiftung, Werner Baensch

A Peaceful Day

Sieglinde Hamacher
GDR
1985,
4‘

A beetle is frantically chased by a bird. It finally manages to wiggle into a crack and believes itself out of harm’s way. But it may not be quite as safe as it thinks… A fast-paced, colourful felt-pen animation.

©Defa-Stiftung, Peter Pohler

The Fire of Faust

Katja Georgi
GDR
1982,
22‘

The Faust story retold in a different way and in an entirely new context: Faust wants to invent a fire that is stronger than all the fires in the world. The fascinating artwork is reminiscent of Bosch.

©Defa-Stiftung, Brigitte Schönberner

The Solution

Sieglinde Hamacher
GDR
1988,
3‘

Birds are sitting on a power line. Everybody in the flock is looking in the same direction – except for one. Really, that is unacceptable! A behavioural study of birds with an all too human attitude, adorably animated and full of psychological humour.

©Defa-Stiftung, Wolfgang Schiebel

The Peasant’s Wise Daughter

Monika Anderson
GDR
1984,
20‘

In this well-known fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, the unwavering love and brilliant mind of a peasant’s wise daughter show her husband, the King, that he could not find a better wife even if he tried. Full of bizarre wit and solid comedy while still fresh and modern in its execution, this is the perfect feel-good film.

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