Oberhausen Manifesto

Last updated

The Oberhausen Manifesto was a declaration by a group of 26 young German filmmakers at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia on 28 February 1962. The manifesto was a call to arms to establish a "new German feature film". It was initiated by Haro Senft and among the signatories were the directors Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz. The manifesto was associated with the motto "Papas Kino ist tot" (Papa's cinema is dead), although this phrase does not appear in the manifesto itself.

The signatories to the 1962 manifesto became known as the Oberhausen Group and are seen as important forerunners of the New German Cinema that began later in the decade. [1] Their names are:

The Oberhausen Group were awarded the Deutscher Filmpreis in 1982.

A second 'Oberhausen manifesto' was published in 1965, partly in reaction to perceptions of continued conservatism in the German film industry. [2] Led by the radical French director Jean-Marie Straub, this declaration was also signed by Rodolf Thome, Dirk Alvermann, Klaus Lemke, Peter Nestler, Reinald Schnell, Dieter Süverkrüp, Kurt Ulrich, and Max Zihlmann.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Germany</span>

The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20th century film industry in Europe, similar to Hollywood later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberhausen</span> City in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen. The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

New German Cinema is a period in German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorealism, gained notice by producing a number of "small" motion pictures that caught the attention of art house audiences. These filmmakers included Percy Adlon, Harun Farocki, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Fleischmann, Werner Herzog, Alexander Kluge, Ulli Lommel, Wolfgang Petersen, Volker Schlöndorff, Helma Sanders-Brahms, Werner Schroeter, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, Margarethe von Trotta and Wim Wenders. As a result of the attention they garnered, they were able to create better-financed productions which were backed by the big US studios. However, most of these larger films were commercial failures and the movement was heavily dependent on subsidies. By 1977, 80% of a budget for a typical German film was ensured by a subsidy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volker Schlöndorff</span> German filmmaker (born 1939)

Volker Schlöndorff is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which also included Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Margarethe von Trotta and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Kluge</span> German author, philosopher, academic and film director

Alexander Kluge is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Reitz</span> German film director and producer

Edgar Reitz is a German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe. He is best-known for his internationally acclaimed Heimat film series (1984-2013).

Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet were a duo of French filmmakers who made two dozen films between 1963 and 2006. Their films are noted for their rigorous, intellectually stimulating style and radical, communist politics. While both were French, they worked mostly in Germany and Italy. From the Clouds to the Resistance (1979) and Sicilia! (1999) are among the duo's best regarded works.

'Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus' is a German film editor who was a member of the New German Cinema movement and is noted particularly for her many films with director Werner Herzog. Between 1966 and 1986, she was credited on more than twenty-five feature films and feature-length documentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Short Film Festival Oberhausen</span>

The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International Competition, a German Competition, an International Children's and Youth Film Competition, the MuVi Award for best German music video, and, since 2009, the NRW Competition for productions from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Ursula Dirichs is a German actress born in Recklinghausen in 1935.

<i>Germany in Autumn</i> 1978 film

Germany in Autumn is a 1978 West German anthology film about the period of 1977 known as the German Autumn, which was dominated by incidents of terrorism. The film is composed of contributions from different filmmakers, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alexander Kluge, Edgar Reitz, Bernhard Sinkel, Alf Brustellin, Hans Peter Cloos, Katja Rupé, Peter Schubert and Volker Schlöndorff. It was entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won a Special Recognition award.

<i>He Cant Stop Doing It</i> 1962 West German mystery film

He Can't Stop Doing It is a 1962 West German mystery film directed by Axel von Ambesser and starring Heinz Rühmann, Rudolf Forster and Grit Boettcher. It was loosely based on the Father Brown stories by G. K. Chesterton, Rühmann reprising his role from the 1960 film The Black Sheep. It is part in the post-war tradition of German krimi films, similar to the ongoing series of Edgar Wallace adaptations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hof International Film Festival</span> German film festival

The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 films are shown in 8 theaters of 2 cinema centers, adding up to a total of 200 individual film presentations. With the exception of the retrospective, all films are German or world premieres.

The 29th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 25 August to 7 September 1968.

In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death is a 1974 drama film directed by Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz. It is set in Frankfurt and tells the story of two women, one who sleeps with many men and steals their wallets, and one who is a spy for East Germany. The film mimics the style of documentaries, with actual documentary footage from the city as well as essayistic aspects.

Franz-Josef Spieker was a German film maker.

<i>Brutality in Stone</i> 1961 film

Brutality in Stone is a 1961 German documentary film directed by Alexander Kluge and Peter Schamoni. Produced at a time when German cinema preferred to forget the nation's Nazi past, the black and white film recalls the speeches and rallies of Adolf Hitler in a largely motionless setting.

<i>The Seventh Victim</i> (1964 film) 1964 film

The Seventh Victim is a 1964 West German thriller film directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb and starring Hansjörg Felmy, Ann Smyrner and Hans Nielsen.

<i>Eight Hundred Times Lonely</i> 2019 film directed by Anna Hepp

Eight Hundred Times Lonely or 800 Times Lonely - One Day with German Filmmaker Edgar is a 2019 German documentary film directed by Anna Hepp about the German film director Edgar Reitz, who is known for his series of films called Heimat and was also a representative of the New German Cinema movement. Anna Hepp's film celebrated its world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival in the Venice Classics section.

References

  1. Rentschler, Eric (2012-06-01). "DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENTS: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OBERHAUSEN MANIFESTO". Artforum. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  2. MacKenzie, Scott (2014). Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 153–54. ISBN   9780520957411.