As top-class players – with their own fan club and fan culture – the Berlin Eisbären (Berlin Polar Bears) are above all one thing: underdogs from the East who managed to go straight to the top. During the 1990s, this ice hockey team from East Berlin was also a powerful symbol of East German self-confidence. This positive view of personal identity is still rare at a time when divided Germany remains far from becoming one in the minds of the people. Pepe Danquart explores fan culture, old and new prejudices, and the legacy of the East German era – back when the Berlin Eisbären were still called Dynamo Berlin. The documentary is also an homage to a sport characterized by speed and toughness. HEIMSPIEL was honoured with the German Film Award in 2000 for Best Director.

The team’s hockey fairy tale began in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Like many other team sports, ice hockey didn’t have a particularly good reputation with Party officials, who were more interested in taking home as many medals as possible at large international sporting events. Consequently, ice hockey was more or less shelved as a sport in East Germany. Only two teams survived: Dynamo Berlin and Dynamo Weisswasser. Players, managers, officials, fans and sports reporters recount the special position enjoyed by the club during the GDR era, long before its ascent in the federal league.

The ice hockey club became a symbol of the East Germans’ self-image. One fan describes how important the hockey club was to those who grew up in the GDR: “I am an avowed East Berliner and therefore also an avowed Eisbär.” The team fostered a sense of belonging, less towards ice hockey as a sport and more to the eastern roots of the team. “We don’t have much left in the East,” says another fan. In this way, the Eisbären became an anchor for East German fan culture. Very few sports have first-rate East German teams in the premier league, but “the Eisbären are the exception.” Reading between the lines, one can learn a good deal about the East-West German relationship during the first ten years after reunification. The prejudices and athletic rivalry between East and West show a German unity that still remains unfulfilled in the German populace.

Just ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Eisbären are a colourful amalgamation of Canadian, Scandinavian and German players, a Bavarian manager (Lorenz Funk, Sr.), true Berliners and enthusiastic fans from across eastern Germany. Fan culture encompasses young and old alike. Club supporters chant in unison while travelling on city trains or fan buses to team matches. Their caps depict roaring polar bears, and the fans are even clad in hockey jerseys, which make them appear large and strong – like real hockey players.

In the locker-rooms, the team’s stars put on their kit, which consists of layer upon layer of protective gear, and looks like a cross between a knight’s armour and a fat suit. Their unique and distinguishing Eisbär jerseys are then worn on top of everything else. For the scenes on the ice, Pepe Danquart uses a stylistic device that many are familiar with from media sports coverage: extreme slow motion shots. After all, ice hockey is a power play; it is a sport that moves almost too quickly to watch with the naked eye. Yet the “positively crazy” fans still show up at almost all the team’s matches to experience them live. They accompany their Eisbären to Nuremberg and Moscow, singing merrily, “Que será, será – wir Eisbär’n sind wieder da.” (“Que será, será – the Eisbären are back again.”) And when a local match is scheduled, they even drive to the other half of the city, to West Berlin, home of the Capitals. But home games are the true highlight of the season, both for the team and their fans. During these matches, the stadium erupts with excitement. Thousands in the stands create a soundscape of cheers, chants and uproarious applause upon each home-team goal. This mixes with the sounds from the ice, to create a dense atmosphere, carefully captured by Danquart’s team.

HEIMSPIEL portrays a lively fan culture that is common in many places in Germany. But the loyalty displayed by Eisbären fans to their team is particularly special. Fans are loyal to not only a sport, a team and a city, but also, in principle, an entire country – one that no longer exists as it once did. HEIMSPIEL may be set in a freshly reunified Germany, but the documentary’s story actually began long ago.
“As a club, we go way back,” says a young woman from the fan club.

HEIMSPIEL premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, ran at numerous festivals and received the German Film Award in 2000 for Best Director.

Following the premiere of HEIMSPIEL, Spiegel.de wrote:

HEIMSPIEL explores a period of GDR history, showing what lies in the hearts of East and West Berliners ten years after reunification. Trenches still run deep, and this is precisely where Danquart sees the value of his work: “We didn’t want to cloak inner-German problems in secrecy, but instead bring them to light – inspiring viewers to stop and think.”

Production Country

Germany (DE)

Production Period

1998-2000

Production Year

2000

color

color

Aspect Ratio

1:1,85

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Documentary

Topic

Fall of the Wall / Reunification, Sport, GDR

Available Media

DVD

Original Version

German (de)

DVD

Subtitles

German (de), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (es), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt)

Note on the Format

Pepe Danquart Trilogie
"Am Limit", "Heimspiel", "Höllentour"