Join Goethe-Institut Houston and our friends at Big Queer Picture Show for Retrospective Series of three of Rosa von Praunheim's most iconic films. On May 16th we screen von Praunheim's 1983 musical City of Lost Souls at Basket Books & Art. 

 

About the Director

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 the 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.

About the Film

Hilarious, raunchy, and completely ahead of its time, City of Lost Souls captures the gender-defying American exiles who sought refuge in the 1980's Berlin club scene. Featuring star turns from trans icons Jayne County and Angie Stardust, this rock musical extravaganza follows a group of eccentrics and outcasts - including an erotic trapeze artist duo, an occultist spiritual therapist, and a nymphomaniac giving English lessons- who live and work at Berlin’s Hamburger Queen diner and connected boarding house. A major influence on Hedwig and the Angry Inch, City of Lost Souls is a cult classic of queer no-budget filmmaking from iconoclastic auteur Rosa von Praunheim, one of the most prominent gay rights activists in the German-speaking world.

Dir. Rosa von Praunheim
Germany, 1983
Run time: 94 min.
Language: German with English subtitles
Rating: 18 years and up (nudity and sexual content)