Der Sturz - Honeckers Ende(2012)

Our Children(de)

From an official perspective, marginal youth culture did not exist in East Germany. The topic of subcultures was taboo in the GDR, and groups such as goths, skinheads, anti-skins, punks and neo-Nazis were dismissed as social deviations promoted by western countries. Director Roland Steiner had access to such young East Germans in the late 1980s. Over the course of four years, he brought them before the camera in an attempt to understand what drew them to these groups.

Alfred(de)

Short biographical documentary about the life of Alfred Florstedt and his life as a progressive communist from the Weimar Republic to his death in 1985.

Die Mamais(de)

This color documentary tells the story of the "Mamais." In 1960, a group of workers at the Bitterfeld chemical plant set themselves the task of becoming the first "socialist brigade" in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to act in accordance with the slogan "Work, learn, and live socialist."

Dance Dance Documentary(en)

In 1999, Konami Corp. introduced a Japanese-influenced coin-operated arcade stand-up to the U.S. Its draw was unheard of for a video game: the combination of music, competition, and interactive video-gameplay along with actual physical activity. Four years later, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) has become one of the most popular game crazes stateside and found easily in video game stores and in nationwide retail markets. This story explores the youth culture surrounding the game and follows a group of devoted players and documents their interactions at various arcades and tournaments.

The Red Elvis(de)

A documentary on the late American entertainer Dean Reed, who became a huge star in East Germany after settling there in 1973.

I Am My Own Woman(de)

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

Schabowskis Zettel - Die Nacht, als die Mauer fiel(de)

Heimatkunde(de)

Former "Titanic" satire magazine editor Martin Sonneborn takes an undercover trip around Berlin and discovers the East-German mentality and what is left of the socialist German Democratic Republic.

DDR - die entsorgte Republik(de)

Last to Know(de)

In the documentary Last To Know political prisoners, sent to jail for openly opposing the East German regime that existed until the German reunification in 1990, talk about their times of trial and their lives today. Neither they, nor their families have come to terms with what happened.

Sportsfreund Lötzsch(de)

Codename Pirate(de)

Was my father really a spy, as his file in the former East German Secret Service (STASI) suggests? This question marks the starting point of a son’s journey into his late father’s past which still remains somewhat mysterious even today. Eric Asch is looking for answers – in the Stasi archives, at the NSA and in his own family history. The result is a very personal documentary which reports ironically about the practices of secret service during the Cold War.

JUNI 53(de)

Bowlingtreff(de)

The “Bowlingtreff” is a bowling alley situated right in the centre of Leipzig opened in July 1987. At that time the quality of life in Leipzig and the whole GDR got worse. Houses collapsed because of poor conditions, public life and amusement was on a very low level. The “Bowlingtreff” was not merely an urban entertainment centre but a revolution in those days. Built with the help of hundreds of volunteers without permission of the state authorities in Berlin the building expresses a free and international architecture known as postmodernism. It is an architecture that was never seen before in Leipzig. Marble and parquet on the floor, a glass roof and beautiful pink pillars. The atmosphere was western as time witnesses remember it.

Robotron - High Tech made in GDR(de)

In a world divided by the Iron Curtain, East Germany sought to carve its niche in the technological race. Enter "Robotron" - a name that seamlessly blended "robot" and "electronics." This wasn't just a brand; it was an ambitious answer to the West's technological advancements, a testament to the GDR’s drive to match, if not surpass, Western innovation. Drawing inspiration from the corporate giants of the West, the GDR‘s government merged various businesses to form this tech behemoth. With 16 major hubs in Central Germany alone, it was clear: "Robotron" was to be the DDR's technological crown jewel. But what was the Socialist Unity Party (SED), the GDR's ruling party, envisioning with this grand venture? How did "Robotron" navigate the challenges of operating within a socialist planned economy, while striving for global excellence? And as it grew to dominate East Germany's tech landscape, why did it always seem to be one step behind the leading global tech powers?

Hotel Astoria(de)

At Hotel Astoria, the former hotspot of Leipzig, guests were served champagne and turtle soup while the Stasi listened in. Animated memories from times gone by.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof(de)

Documents the remodeling of the Ostbahnhof in Berlin Friedrichshain into the central station of the GDR.

Die Chemiearbeiterstadt(en)

Documentary about the life in the then newly completed city Halle Neustadt in the former DDR in East Germany.

Look Out!(de)

Hard, harder, hardest! This film orders you from the start to turn up the volume and pay attention. "Look out! We're Coming to Get You!" is a flood of images driven by a tempest of guitars. The film's creators jam 20 years of German music history into 120 minutes of film. Musicians from BLIND PASSENGERS, DIE SKEPTIKER, SANDOW and other bands explode their way through the film. Fans of the DEFA documentary "Flüstern und Schreien" ("Whisper and Shout") already know the stars of that film, Aljoscha, Paul and Flake of the band Feeling B. Here they have a chance to see how these musicians survived the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the "escalation of possibilities" that came with it. And you're allowed to laugh, too!

This Ain't California(de)

A retrospective look at the youth cultures born in the German Democratic Republic. A celebration of the lust for life, a contemporary trip into the world of skate, a tale on three heroes and their boards, from their childhood in the seventies, through their teenage rebellion in the eighties and the summer of 1989, when their life changed forever, to 2011.