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The German Film Office is pleased to present a special in-person screening of Thomas Beyer and Adrian Dorschner’s 2015 documentary Bowlingtreff at the Goethe-Institut New York, followed by a conversation between the filmmakers and Kyle Bergman, founder and director of the Architecture & Design Film Festival. Please register to attend.

The Bowlingtreff was a bowling alley in the East German city of Leipzig. It opened to the public in 1987, as living conditions in the GDR were rapidly declining. Built by hundreds of volunteers without a permit, the building follows a free and international architecture known as postmodernism, which had never been seen before in Leipzig. The Bowlingtreff was not just an urban entertainment hub but, with its Western flair, a piece of aesthetic resistance. Postmodernism luminary Denise Scott Brown regards it as a monument to the zeitgeist of 1989 and the GDR people’s bravery to claim their freedom.

World premiere: DOK Leipzig

“Bowlingtreff is the strange story of a bowling alley created under the radar in East Germany just before the collapse of the GDR. An exuberantly designed postmodern underground club by Winfried Sziegoleit, with a sensational skylight entry, the remade 1926 public works building features 14 lanes, cafe, pool tables, and a gym. It was constructed by members of the public when funds ran out. Denise Scott Brown and Paolo Portoghesi respond to the place with great delight. Sadly, today it is abandoned and up for sale.” (Susan Morris, The Architect’s Newspaper)

On September 30, 6:30pm, filmmakers Beyer and Dorschner will present the world premiere of their new film, Robin Hood Gardens, at the Architecture & Design Film Festival. Additional screenings on October 1 and 2.

Bowlingtreff
Dir. Thomas Beyer, Adrian Dorschner
Germany, 2015
60 minutes