The erstwhile East Germany, officially known as German Democratic Republic ran a studio Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA) to promote films and film making. DEFA revived the film culture in the country that was grappled with the Nazi influence.
The DEFA package to be screened in the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala gives a detailed picture of the socio-economic conditions of the post-war East Germany, and the Berlin Wall is definitely prominent.
Eight films, Deutschland Endstation Ost , The Legend of Paul And Paula , the Sons of Great Dear , the Architects , Traces of Tones , After Winter Comes Spring , Girls in Wittstock and the Escape are all set to feature in the 16th edition of the festival this year.
Deutschland Endstation Ost directed by Frans Buyens details the picture of the effect of the German wall rising and dividing the country. The 1964 film talks about the condition of the people divided by the wall.
After Winter Comes Spring is a 1988 film, directed by Helka Misselwits just before the demolition of the Berlin wall. It probes into the social, economic and political conditions prevailing in GDR and also the plight of women in the East Germany.
The 1966 film The Sons of Great Bear directed by Josef Mach portrays the clash between the Dakota Indians and the Whites who want to invade their land adjacent to the Black Hills due to the recent discovery of gold.
In the Legend of Paul and Paula , director Heiner Carow tells the story of passion between a man who has lost affection for his wife and a single mother of two children. The 1973 film is said to have brought a breath of fresh air in the erstwhile stagnant East German Cinema.
The Architects (1966) directed by Peter Kahane voices the story of an architect and his former colleagues, who set out to build a new cultural centre for a town in East Berlin. The system constantly becomes a hindrance in their way forward.
Frank Beyer’s 1966 film Traces of Stones depicts the living and working conditions of the population in East Germany in 1960s through three central characters caught in a love triangle.
Hajo Baumgartner’s film The Escape was first released in 1878.
The 1975 film Girls in Wittstock voices the story of girls working in textile industry and their thoughts and anxieties.
