The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) | Exhibitions + Events | Calendar | Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany

September 01 - October 27, 2007
Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany Phyllis Wattis Theater Rebels with a Cause is the only comprehensive retrospective of East German cinema ever screened in the United States. Between 1946 and 1992, the state-owned DEFA studios produced more than 7,500 films. While many have been voted among the best German films ever made, they have so far remained largely unknown. This is an exceptional opportunity to discover the energy, innovation, and political commitment that characterized cinema on the other side of the Berlin wall. The films will be screened in new 35mm prints with English subtitles. As a complement to SFMOMA's programming, Goethe-Institut San Francisco hosts DVD screenings of I Was Nineteen (Konrad Wolf, 1968) at 7:00 p.m. on October 23 and Trace of Stones (Frank Beyer, 1966/1990) at 7:00 p.m. on October 30. $5 general, students, and seniors; free for SFMOMA members or with Museum admission (requires free ticket, which can be picked up in the Haas Atrium). Tickets are available at the Museum (with no surcharge) or online. Copresented with Goethe-Institut San Francisco, with support from Lufthansa. Originally organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Goethe-Institut New York in collaboration with the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Buy tickets

Past

Buy tickets Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany The Monument, Klaus Georgi and Lutz Stützner, 1990, 4 min. The Architects, Peter Kahane, 1990, 97 min.

Rebels with a Cause is the only comprehensive retrospective of East German cinema ever screened in the United States. Between 1946 and 1992, the state-owned DEFA studios produced…

Buy tickets Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany The Bicycle, Evelyn Schmidt, 1981, 89 min. Yell Once a Week, Günter Jordan, 1982/1989, 15 min.

Schmidt showcases a rare feminist view of socialist Germany in The Bicycle, while Yell Once a Week, which was banned before is debut, documents the teenage perspective.

Buy tickets Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany A Love Story, Richard Groschopp, 1953, 7 min. The Legend of Paul and Paula, Heiner Carow, 1972, 106 min.

An immensely popular cult film, The Legend of Paul and Paula tells the story of a passionate, undeniable love between a single mother and a married bureaucrat in East Berlin. A Love…

Buy tickets The Second Track Joachim Kunert, 1962, 80 min.

The only East German film to depict former Nazis adjusting to life in the German Democratic Republic, The Second Track follows the story of Station Inspector Brock, who is forced to…

Buy tickets Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany News from the West. Harald Röbbeling, 1955, 8 min. Carbide and Sorrel, Frank Beyer, 1963, 80 min.

An usually comic film set at the end of World War II, News from the West is the lighthearted story of Kalle in his travels north from Dresden. It screens with Carbide and Sorrel for…

Buy tickets The Gleiwitz Case Gerhard Klein, 1961, 69 min.

The Gleiwitz Case recreates the true story of Nazis disguised as Poles who attack a radio station in Gleiwitz. This staged incident served as Hitler's justification for invading…

Buy tickets The Rabbit Is Me Kurt Maetzig, 1965/1990, 109 min.

Once banned as an antisocialist attack on the state, The Rabbit Is Me deals with a young student who has a love affair with a judge - the same judge who sentenced her brother for…

Buy tickets Berlin Schönhauser Corner Gerhard Klein, 1957, 82 min.

The classic teen cult film of its era, Berlin Schönhauser Corner exemplifies the effect political and economic divisions have on the entire German population. The program…

Buy tickets Your Unknown Brother Ulrich Weiss, 1981, 108 min.

Your Unknown Brother is the story of a former communist political prisoner released into unfamiliar Nazi Germany on the brink of World War II.

Buy tickets Born in '45 Jürgen Böttcher, 1966/1990, 94 min.

Once banned for being "indifferent and insignificant," Born in '45 tells the story of newlyweds Alfred and Lisa, who decide to separate, only to be reunited after fruitless…

Film Series

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