Cinema In The German Democratic Republic (Gdr) : Germany

While a wide variety of cinematic productions were gradually emerging in the western part of divided Germany, cinema in the east was financed and controlled by the state. Deutsche Film-AG (DEFA), the state-controlled film company in the GDR, released 15 to 20 productions of its own each year. Starting in the 1960s, however, as young directors became increasingly critical of the conditions under “real existing Socialism”, DEFA films no longer invariably toed the official SED line.

This was evident from films such as “The Divided Heaven” (Konrad Wolf, 1964) and “Spur der Steine” (Frank Beyer, 1966), which the government banned from the cinemas shortly after their premieres. “The Legend of Paul and Paula” (Heiner Carow, 1973) and “Jacob the Liar” (Frank Beyer, 1974) were acclaimed outside the GDR as well. Later “Solo Sunny” (Konrad Wolf, 1979) and “Fariaho” (Roland Graf, 1980) probed the limits of thematic and artistic freedom in the GDR.

After the unification of Germany in 1990, DEFA ceased production. The DEFA studios in Babelsberg near Berlin have nevertheless managed the quantum leap to the future: They are presently establishing themselves as one of Europe’s leading locations for film and television production.