Border Crossings: West Cinema in the GDR

16.11.2022 - 22.02.2023

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Exhibition details

Louis de Funès, Eddie Murphy, Barbra Streisand - these and other stars of American and West European film were anything but unknown to cinema-goers in the GDR. Due to loosening of socialist cultural policies, a larger number of western imported films were distributed from the 1970s onwards.

The exhibition presents their film posters, which oscillate between aesthetic opulence and pop cultural collage. Complementary exhibits in the exhibition include West German film posters, which provide a comparative view, and committee minutes from the Film Department of the GDR Ministry of Culture, which document decisions on Western films proposed for distribution. Negative decisions and state censorship measures are also repeatedly recorded in the minutes, providing insights into the ideological orientation of GDR film policy.

The exhibited film posters are from the holdings of the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung of the University of Cologne and come from a small cinema in the Thuringian province. The exhibition includes a recording of an interview with the former cinema operator, in which he talks about everyday business and tells anecdotes of recurring challenges.

Short lectures by three experts on the topic of "West films in the cinema of the GDR" for listening (German):

Detlef Helmbold | Grafiker und Filmhistoriker aus Berlin | Gestaltung von Kinoplakaten und sog. Wandzeitungen in der DDR (MP3, 25.5 MB)
Dr. Rosemary Stott | University of East London (auf Englisch) | Staatliche Filmzensur in der DDR mit einem besonderen Augenmerk auf Zensurprotokolle zu westlichen Importfilmen (MP3, 22.0 MB)
Apl. Prof. Dr. Joseph Garncarz | Institut für Medienkultur und Theater | Aspekte der Filmdistribution und -rezeption in der DDR (MP3, 17.0 MB)

Moderation: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Dennis Göttel, Institut für Medienkultur und Theater