Fantasy Worlds and Realism - Dossier Heimat Film

The heimat (roughly: homeland) film is the only film genre to have been created in Germany. It had its heyday in the years following the Second World War, when unspoiled nature and happy ends were to help people forget their fear and hunger.

In the 1970s, young directors in both cinema and theatre tried to portray (rural) everyday life in a realistic and unsentimental way.

The formerly totally apolitical heimat film was given highly socio-political elements. Today the approach to the concept of “heimat” is lighter, more playful and often carefree.

We first take a glance at the „perfect“ 50ies and introduce the protagonists and the major films of the socially critical heimat film and the heimat film of today.

'Schwarzwaldmädel' by Hans Deppe; Germany, 1950; Copyright: Berolina Film

The Heimat Film of the 1950s

The fifties in Germany. The decade tried to forget the terrors of war. It tried to repress the past of the Third Reich and its own guilt.More ...

The Socially Critical Heimat Film

In the early sixties young German producers began to make films that were completely different both from the point of view of their style and content. However, in so doing, they have also repeatedly made use of the genre of the heimat film.More ...

The Current Reorientation of the Heimat Film

Since the eighties, film-makers have increasingly tried to reconcile social criticism, local colour and aspects of light movies. The result has been a lighter, more playful treatment of the genre.More ...