THE EAST GERMANS
by lutz pehnert

 

for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall on november 9th, 2014, credo:film produced a series of documentary films for rundfunk berlin brandenburg (rbb). led by grimme award-winner lutz pehnert, a collective of directors tells 25 stories of east germans.

for the former gdr citizens, the collapse of the communist gdr in 1989 meant numerous professional and personal breaks and disappointments, in many ways a complete reorientation or the great opportunity to travel, to find wealth, new luck. 25 years after the fall of the wall, the east germans shows how they dealt with these great and enduring changes and who they have become today.

the “25 paths of life” enable a vast cross-section through the east german soul, across milieus, income levels and generations. in each episode an individual song adds an emotional layer that takes us back in time.

some of the episodes are: a socialist model town serving as memorial site; a women responsible for the regional archives of the ministry for state security; a gallery owner leading the “new leipzig school” to international success; a debt adviser, mainly advising east germans; a baker, whose handmade rolls have the “kiez” stand in line every morning; a painter, who turns saudi arabian cadillac’s into art.

 

crew: jürgen ast, daniel ast, peter badel, rainer baumert, rolf bergmann, maciej bocianski, andré böhm, frederik bösing, liza cramer, thomas dehler, gabriele denecke, jeannette eggert, milena fessmann, carsten fiebeler, wolfgang gaube, uli gaulke, monika haffert, stefan kaminski, sebastian kleinloh, thomas kleinwächter, christian klemke, till kolano, erik krambeck, ralph kotsch, christoph links, sarah maret, manuela martinson, anne misselwitz, florian obrecht, lutz pehnert, christian riegel, daniel rund, dominik rätz, takis c. sariannidis, susann schimk, nicole schink, johannes schneeweiß, dirk schreier, jens stubenrauch, christoph sturm, jörg trentmann, johannes unger, manuel vogt, laurence wegener

 

5 x 80 min, hd, colour

 

credo:film in co-production with rbb and in cooperation with ch.links verlag, berliner zeitung and rbb media

 

funded by medienboard berlin brandenburg and bundesstiftung zur aufarbeitung der sed diktatur

 

awards: grimme-preis (2015): nomination in the category “information & culture”

 

purchase a dvd

 

© 2014 credo:film gmbh/ rbb