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DEFA was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic throughout the country's existence.
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA, is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, a major German film company headquartered in Babelsberg, producing and distributing motion pictures from 1917 until the end of the Nazi era. The name UFA was revived by Bertelsmann for an otherwise unrelated film and television outfit, UFA GmbH.
Die Mörder sind unter uns, a German film known in English as Murderers Among Us in the United States or The Murderers Are Among Us in the United Kingdom was one of the first post-World War II German films and the first Trümmerfilm. It was produced in 1945/46 in the Althoff Studios in Babelsberg and the Jofa-Ateliers in Johannisthal. The film was written and directed by Wolfgang Staudte.
Milcząca Gwiazda, literal English translation The Silent Star, is a 1960 East German/Polish color science fiction film based on the 1951 science fiction novel The Astronauts by Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem. It was directed by Kurt Maetzig, and stars Günther Simon, Julius Ongewe and Yoko Tani. The film was first released by Progress Film in East Germany, running 93 min. Variously dubbed and cut versions were also released in English under other titles: First Spaceship on Venus, Planet of the Dead, and Spaceship Venus Does Not Reply.
Jacob the Liar is a 1975 war drama film directed by Frank Beyer, adapted by Beyer and Jurek Becker from the latter's novel of the same title. Set in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Holocaust, the film centers on Jakob Heym, a Polish Jew who attempts to raise the morale inside the ghetto by sharing encouraging rumors that he claims he has heard on an (imaginary) radio. The film was a co-production between East Germany and Czechoslovakia. It premiered on East German television on 22 December 1974, and was released theatrically on 18 April 1975.
Naked Among Wolves is a 1963 East German film directed by Frank Beyer and starring Erwin Geschonneck and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on author Bruno Apitz's 1958 novel by the same name. The film was remade in 2015 under the direction of Philipp Kadelbach.
The Adventures of Werner Holt is a 1965 East German drama film directed by Joachim Kunert.
The Sons of Great Bear is a 1966 East German Western film, directed by the Czechoslovak filmmaker Josef Mach and starring the Yugoslav actor Gojko Mitić in the leading role of Tokei-ihto. The script was adapted from the eponymous series of novels by author Liselotte Welskopf-Henrich, and the music composed by Wilhelm Neef. The picture is a revisionist Western, pioneering the genre of the Ostern, and emphasises the positive portrayal of Native Americans, while presenting the Whites as antagonists. It is one of the most successful pictures produced by the DEFA film studio.
Berlin im Aufbau is an East German documentary film directed by Kurt Maetzig, one of East Germany's most respected film-makers, between 1945 and 1946. It was a prominent 22 minute documentary, released in 1946 and produced by the DEFA film company. Maetzig was assisted in the assembly of the film by Marion Keller, who had also scripted and organized several other propaganda films of the late 1940s.
Der Rat der Götter is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Kurt Maetzig. It was released in 1950.
Story of a Young Couple is an East German film, directed by Kurt Maetzig. It was released in 1952.
Sun Seekers is an East German film, directed by Konrad Wolf during 1958. It was banned and subsequently released only in 1972.
Film censorship in East Germany was common at a politically sensitive time in history. Despite the three consecutive constitutions of the German Democratic Republic proclaiming freedom from censorship, in practice certain films were regulated. The chief reason for censorship in East Germany in cinema was criticism of government policies which the government perceived as a threat to the future of the nation. Censorship of film and other media was strictly de facto; the constitution of the GDR guaranteed freedom of the media and film. However, several forms of soft censorship were used to prevent the public from viewing certain films.
Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film.
Hans Kratzert is a German screenwriter and film director. Kratzert was born in Heerwegen in the Province of Silesia during the Second World War. He was part of the mass emigration of Germans westward following Nazi Germany's defeat during the war. Kratzert's family settled in the Soviet-occupied territory that became East Germany, where he grew up.
The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial backing from the French company Pathé. The producer Paul Davidson's PAGU then took control and constructed a grander structure. The First World War propaganda drama The Yellow Passport, the historical comedy Madame DuBarry and the expressionist 1920 silent film The Golem were made there by PAGU.
Die Fledermaus is a 1946 German operetta film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Marte Harell, Johannes Heesters, and Will Dohm. It is based on Johann Strauss II's 1874 work of the same name.
PROGRESS is a German film distributor. It was established in 1950 to handle the release of films produced by DEFA, the state-controlled production outfit of communist East Germany. Since 1989 Progress distributes the entire DEFA film collection.
The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Johannistal during the silent period. Sometimes known as the Jofa Studios, in 1929 they became the base of the newly established German major studio Tobis Film at the beginning of the sound era.
