
Among Men: Gay in East Germany(2012)
More than two decades ago, a country in Europe existed that marked the border to a different political and economic system, yet was the very heart of the continent. This country called the German Democratic Republic, made Socialism a reality and was home to 17 million people. Born in the deep eastern provinces, Ringo Rösener witnessed East Germany's collapse as a nation. Ringing in the new millennium, he leaves his hometown of Anklam to live out his homosexuality – something he had never dared to do. Would an openly gay life even have been possible in the real Socialist system? Ringo Rösener meets six gay men who lived in the GDR. Some of them speak openly about their sexuality for the first time in their lives. Little by little, they open up, share their stories, and talk about their lives in the supposedly uniform state.

Movie: Among Men: Gay in East Germany

Unter Männern - Schwul in der DDR
HomePage
Overview
More than two decades ago, a country in Europe existed that marked the border to a different political and economic system, yet was the very heart of the continent. This country called the German Democratic Republic, made Socialism a reality and was home to 17 million people. Born in the deep eastern provinces, Ringo Rösener witnessed East Germany's collapse as a nation. Ringing in the new millennium, he leaves his hometown of Anklam to live out his homosexuality – something he had never dared to do. Would an openly gay life even have been possible in the real Socialist system? Ringo Rösener meets six gay men who lived in the GDR. Some of them speak openly about their sexuality for the first time in their lives. Little by little, they open up, share their stories, and talk about their lives in the supposedly uniform state.
Release Date
2012-04-25
Average
5.4
Rating:
2.7 startsTagline
Genres
Languages:
Deutsch
Recommendations Movies

Cracks in Concrete(de)
Two men who do not know each other: Ertan, a 35-year-old ex-convict who is trying to make amends for his past actions, and Mikail, a teenager drug dealer and aspiring musician. However, both will have to face the same reality.

Retablo(qu)
Segundo sees silence as his only option for dealing with his father Noé’s secret. The 14-year-old lives with his parents in a village high up in the mountains. Noé is a respected artisan and Segundo’s role model. With loving eye for detail, he artfully crafts altarpieces for church and homes, and is preparing his son to follow in his footsteps. But cracks form in their tight bond.
Tihar(en)
Tihar is a heartwarming short film celebrating the cherished Hindu festival of brothers and sisters. Bipana and Kalpana, two sisters living in the United Kingdom, invite their brothers, Suraj, Naresh, Dhiraj, to join them for a special Tihar celebration. The siblings, originally from Nepal, come together on this meaningful day, sharing laughter, love, and traditions far from their homeland. The brothers present thoughtful gifts to their sisters as a token of love, and together they light diyas, exchange blessings, and enjoy a festive meal. The film highlights the essence of Tihar as a time to strengthen family bonds. It reminds viewers that amidst life's challenges, festivals provide a perfect opportunity to pause, reconnect, and cherish time with loved ones. The message is simple yet profound: family gatherings and celebrations are the true essence of life.

Chunauti(ne)
Chunauti is an action-packed romantic comedy that tells a story of love, struggle, and justice. Ajaya and his wife Prabha move to Kathmandu, where Ajaya starts working as a teacher. Later, his sister Gita joins them and enrolls in the same college. There, she meets a kind and charming student, but trouble arises when Madhav, a troublesome student, also starts liking her. One day, a fight breaks out in the college, and when Gita tries to stop it, an inspector arrives and brings the situation under control. Angered by this, Madhav and his group cause harm to Prabha and Gita. They also try to escape punishment through legal means. With no strong evidence, Ajaya takes a stand and challenges the court. In the end, he decides to take justice into his own hands, leading to a tragic ending where the inspector, fulfilling his duty, stops Ajaya. Chunauti is a story of love, courage, and sacrifice in the face of injustice.

Maine-Ocean Express(fr)
"Maine-Ocean" is the name of a train that rides from Paris to Saint-Nazaire (near the ocean). In that train, Dejanira, a Brazilian, has a brush with the two ticket inspectors. Mimi, another traveler and also a lawyer, helps her. The four of them will meet together later and live a few shifted adventures with a strange-speaking sailor (Mimi's client).

Nullarbor(en)
An animated road-movie set across the vast and barren landscape of Australia's Nullarbor Plain.

Absent Driver(en)
A private chauffeur drives you around, wherever you like, whenever you like, but do you even know who or what drives you?

Pooveli(ta)
Four characters have different opinion about love. What would happen if their lives are intertwined? Can friends became lovable marriage partners?

Song 29(en)
SONG 29: A portrait of the artist's mother (the Songs are a cycle of silent color 8mm films by the American experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage produced from 1964 to 1969).

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally(ja)
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.

Ghost-Cat of Gojusan-Tsugi(ja)
A power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As her fiancé seeks revenge, he finds Namiji's cat helping him. Co-starring Shintarô Katsu and Takako Irie.

Hello, It's Me!(hy)
Artyom (Armen Dzhigarkhanyan) is a scientist who buries himself in his work after the woman he loves dies during the war. He is informed of his sweetheart's death by a young woman, and soon love blossoms between the lonely doctor and the emerging beauty. This is the big-screen debut of Margarita Terekhova in the popular film that was seen by over 20 million in the USSR.
Similar Movies

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin(en)
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin celebrates one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels inspired millions to reclaim their lives.

Uncle Bob(en)
Robert Oppel's documentary about the life and murder of his uncle and namesake, Robert Opel, the man who streaked the Academy Awards in 1974.

Tarnation(en)
Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

Race d'Ep!(fr)
"Race d’Ep!" (which literally translates to "Breed of Faggots") was made by the “father of queer theory,” Guy Hocquenghem, in collaboration with radical queer filmmaker and provocateur Lionel Soukaz. The film traces the history of modern homosexuality through the twentieth century, from early sexology and the nudes of Baron von Gloeden to gay liberation and cruising on the streets of Paris. Influenced by the groundbreaking work of Michel Foucault on the history of sexuality and reflecting the revolutionary queer activism of its day, "Race d’Ep!" is a shockingly frank, sex-filled experimental documentary about gay culture emerging from the shadows.

Bottom(en)
A cinema verite documentary about a man living in New York City determined to have raw sex with as many men as possible in a year and meticulously keeping count of the number of 'loads' he takes.

Paper Dolls(en)
Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.

The Circle(de)
A young teacher in Zurich in the 1950s falls in love with a transvestite star but is torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. He joins a gay organization that is eventually seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation in Europe.

Private Life: Kyle Ross(en)
Welcome to the Private Life of Kyle Ross. In this intimate documentary, you'll get to know the boy behind the star. From his corporate gig at Helix Studios to the dissolution of his high profile relationship, nothing is off the table. Intent on bending stereotypes and gracefully aging in an industry that celebrates youth, Kyle shares the work that goes into maintaining an image while simultaneously shedding it. After all, he's always enjoyed a contradiction.

Facing Fear(en)
The worlds of a former neo-Nazi and the gay victim of his senseless hate crime attack collide by chance 25 years after the incident that dramatically shaped both of their lives. They proceed to embark on a journey of forgiveness that challenges both to grapple with their beliefs and fears, eventually leading to an improbable collaboration...and friendship.

Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End(en)
Narrated by Linda Hunt, this documentary examines the life of the late author and gay rights activist Paul Monette. Born in 1945 to a well-off Massachusetts family, Monette grows up unable to accept his homosexuality, for years hiding it from his loved ones while struggling to develop as a writer. In 1978, Monette publishes his first novel, which allows him to come out to his parents. After losing one lover to AIDS in 1986, he becomes a ferocious advocate for awareness of the disease.

Packed Lunch(en)
What is it about Speedos? Well here Australian director Tim Hunter is on a mission to find the answer to the question of why so many gay men can't seem to get enough of hunks in tight fitting trunks? Although somehow I think the answer can be found in the question! Anyway in a bid to discover the truth, Hunter has carried out a series of interviews with men who have more than a passing interest in this briefest of garment, including that of Speedo designer Peter Travis, who here relates his part in the history of 'the male equivalent of the Wonder Bra.'

The Case Against 8(en)
A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Muxes(en)
In the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into males and females. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” - men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned limbo between the two genders.

Gaming in Color(en)
This feature length documentary explores the queer side of gaming culture and the game industry's LGBTQ presence. The GaymerX convention that took place in 2013 was a huge step forward for the queer geek community being recognized on a worldwide industry scale. In the same year, more popular mainstream and indie games featured a greater amount of gay and lesbian characters than ever before, helping with visibility and acceptance. The video games universe will only continue to improve and diversify both in its community and industry if we elevate the conversation about inclusion and respecting one another - not in spite of our gay geekiness, but because of it!

I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole(en)
I Always Said Yes is a portrait of pioneering filmmaker Wakefield Poole, whose careers as dancer, choreographer, and director spanned the golden years of Broadway, television, porno chic, and gay liberation.

Queens and Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo(en)
A feature film that chronicles a complete season of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Roping and riding across north America for the past 30 years, the IGRA's courageous cowboys and cowgirls brave challenges both in and out of the arena on their quest to qualify for the World Finals at the end of the season. And along the way, they'll bust every stereotype in the book.

Drawn This Way(en)
From Tom of Finland to Bugs Bunny in a dress – animation has been a place where artists can unleash and explore their sexuality. When did all this g(art) start? Is it a sexual turn-on? How did the artists get their start? Why the obsession with these fantastical stories and characters? Are they taken seriously in the mainstream comic world? Hosts Andy Cheng and Cara Connors dive into the pages of comic books, animated series, films and video games to discover the LGBTQ characters in the documentary Drawn this Way.

Out in Nature: Homosexual Behaviour in the Animal Kingdom(en)
Can any of those who claim homosexuality is "unnatural" explain this beastly behaviour?

Private Diary(es)
Private Diary documents photographer Pedro Usabiaga working with a variety of amateur models. The audience sees how the relationships between the photographer and the subjects changes during their time together, as well as how the individual photographs begin to take shape. Pedro Usabiaga is a well-established Basque photographer whose chief concerns are figurative photography and whose passion in photographing the Spanish male. In this hour long conversation with the artist we are given entry into that process of selecting models (none of the models he uses for this book to be titled 'Private Diary' are professional, but instead are randomly chosen as Usabiaga observes athletes in action) and then allowed to follow Usabiaga and his crew as they photograph these men in natural settings and natural light.

In Search of Avery Willard(en)
In Search of Avery Willard iIlluminates the life and work of the groundbreaking, and mostly forgotten, artist Avery Willard — photographer, filmmaker, writer, publisher, leatherman, pornographer.