The DEFA Foundation Presents: Breaking Taboos

East Germany’s self-image as a society free of conflict soon foundered on the reality of life: even in this state of workers and farmers, substance abuse, delinquency and suicide still very much existed. Many of DEFA’s documentaries dealt with such controversial subjects and revealed the fault lines in society in so doing. Touching on these taboo subjects often led to their production and release being equally rich in conflict themselves. Richard Cohn-Vossen’sIN SACHEN H. UND ACHT ANDERER(1973) depicts a criminal trial against adolescents charged with blackmail and attacks on homosexuals. The JUGENDWERKHOF(1982) in Roland Steiner’s film is revealed to be in no way “an institution with open doors”, as the education methods shown prove. Alcoholic colleagues at the Neptun shipyard in Rostock are treated by therapist Kunstmann, who is the subject of Eduard Schreiber’s portrait in ABHÄNGIG (1984). The oddities of justice are revealed by Gunther Scholz in ES WAR EINMAL EIN MITTWOCH … (1988): Frank (18) and Uschi (16) decide to commit suicide together. When they survive, Frank is sentenced to two years in prison for manslaughter. (Mirko Wiermann)

Program:
In Sachen H. und acht anderer Richard Cohn-Vossen GDR 1973 35 mm 29 min.
Jugendwerkhof Roland Steiner GDR 1982 35 mm 31 min.
Abhängig Eduard Schreiber GDR 1984 35 mm 23 min.
Es war einmal ein Mittwoch … Gunther Scholz GDR 1988 35 mm 19 min.