Goethe on Demand

With its focus on the filmmaking of Black directors and directors of colour in Germany, the film series Fiktionsbescheinigung deals with a chapter of German film history that is still too little known. It poses the question: who is able to enter German cultural history, cinemas and the film canon and who is left outside? Who determines what is shown?

Ulrike Ottinger is one of the most distinguished avant-garde filmmakers of her generation. In addition to feature and documentary films, her frequently-awarded artistic work comprises images and collages, photographs, and theatre and stage productions.

Birthday film in June: "Unter Schnee" (Under Snow). (2011, D: Ulrike Ottinger)
Visually stunning poetic documentary about the rough and magical landscape of Echiko in the extreme north-west of Japan. The snow, which lies more than a metre deep until May, has for centuries shaped the daily lives of people as well as their myths, festivals and rituals.
 

To mark the 75th anniversary of DEFA, the series presents five films by filmmakers from the GDR. They deal with social problems such as housing shortages, unemployment, criminality, and non-conformist youth and music culture. As special historical documents, the selected films provide a socially critical insight into life in the GDR.  

Television “Made in Germany” is having a golden moment with the rise of international streaming services. German series that appeal to global audiences through smart and original writing, diverse themes, talented lineups and opulent productions have never received so much attention. 

Monika Treut is considered to be one of the pioneers of Queer Cinema. In this interview the film director and producer talks about positive developments in western societies, repressive trends and things that aren’t quite running as they should. 

While the public can recite the names of famous German actresses, the women behind the camera often go unrecognised. We introduce ten women from the German film scene everyone should know.