Carnations in Aspic

The Man with the Objective Lens

A humorous and satirical comedy, which places a man from the year 2222 one day in the (then) present day life in GDR, East Germany under Communist regime. Using a crystal for mind reading he uncovers some improprieties and moral weaknesses in the "Beautiful future" professed by VEB ("Volkseigener Betrieb" – "State Owned Holdings").

Naked Among Wolves

Based on a true story of inmates at KZ Buchenwald that risked their lives to hide a small Jewish boy shortly before the liberation of the camp.

Unterm Birnbaum

Abel Hradscheck, the owner of an inn in the Oderbruch country, faces financial ruin. For this state of affairs, Ursula, his wife and former actress, is by no means free of blame. She is a "newcomer" to the area and even after eleven years in the area, still a "stranger". A Cracow company announces that a money-collector is on his way to the innkeeper. Mr. Szulski arrives and the debts are settled - with money supposedly stemming from an inheritance. The next day, Szulski departs but according to the maid and the stable-boy, behaves in a very...

Censored: Kuhle Wampe

A detailed reconstruction of the censorship case against the landmark Weimar-era communist film, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932). Directed by Slatan Dudow, the crew and cast included left-wing luminaries, such as playwright Bertolt Brecht, composer Hanns Eisler and balladeer Ernst Busch. The film was the subject of vehement disputes and was banned twice for revolutionary and communist tendencies that were perceived to threaten the state. About 230 meters of the original film fell victim to the censor’s shears. This historic censo...

Zille und ick

Mostly fictional episodes in the life of famous german social-critical painter Heinrich Zille.