Rosa von Praunheim - Pioneer of Queer Cinema in Germany

Rosa von Praunheim (born Holger Mischwitzky, 1942–2025) was a German filmmaker, writer, and one of the most influential gay rights activists in German-speaking Europe. His artist name Rosa refers to the pink triangle (rosa Winkel) that homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps. A central figure of New German Cinema and queer counterculture, he made more than 150 films over five decades, consistently combining art, provocation, and political activism. Throughout his career, Praunheim remained a fierce advocate for queer visibility, addressing topics such as AIDS, historical repression, gender nonconformity, and aging. His confrontational style made him controversial, but his influence on LGBTQ+ politics, media representation, and queer cinema is unmatched.
In memory of the filmmaker who passed away last year, the Goethe-Institut Tokyo is presenting two of his early films, “It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives” and “The Bed Sausage” for the first time with Japanese subtitles. Together with the films “Anita: Dances of Vice and Underground and Emigrants”, these works offer a glimpse into the extensive oeuvre of the multifaceted artist and LGBTQ activist.

Filmography (Selection)
1970 Die Bettwurst · Armee der Liebenden (Army of Lovers); documentary 
1971 Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation in der er lebt; documentary 
1976 Ich bin ein Antistar. Das skandalöse Leben der Evelyn Künneke; documentary 
1978 Tally Brown, New York; documentary 
1981 Unsere Leichen leben noch; documentary 
1983 Stadt der verlorenen Seelen (The City of Lost Souls); documentary 
1984 Horror Vacui 
1985 Ein Virus kennt keine Moral 
1987 Anita – Tänze des Lasters 
1989 Überleben in New York; documentary · Schweigen = Tod (Silence = Death); documentary
1992 Ich bin meine eigene Frau (I Am My Own Woman); documentary 
1996 Neurosia – 50 Jahre pervers 
1999 Der Einstein des Sex (The Einstein of Sex) 
2002 Tunten lügen nicht; documentary 
2005 Dein Herz in meinem Hirn 
2011 Die Jungs vom Bahnhof Zoo; documentary 
2015 Härte 
2022 Rex Gildo – Der letzte Tanz (Rex Gildo – The Last Dance); documentary 
2024 Dreißig Jahre an der Peitsche (Twenty Years at the Whip); documentary 
2025 Satanische Sau (Satanic Sow); documentary