Background

Since its establishment in 1998, the DEFA Foundation has been conducting interviews with former DEFA filmmakers. Over 100 conversations have already been recorded with people from a wide range of professions involved in film production: from actors, directors, and cinematographers to sound and editing technicians, makeup and costume designers, as well as animation and cartoon artists.

The interviews, some of which feature individuals who have since passed away, provide deep and often previously unknown insights into the work of East German film production and its peculiarities. Topics discussed include artistic freedom and political censorship, production conditions in a shortage economy, differences in film production between East and West, and the career paths of filmmakers after the end of DEFA. Embedded in the historical and political context and enriched with biographical details and anecdotes from film shoots, these interviews offer firsthand accounts and memories that bring the creation of numerous DEFA films and classics to life.

Among the interviewees are notable figures such as Gojko Mitić, Angelica Domröse, Winfried Glatzeder, Kurt Maetzig, Dagmar Manzel, Fred Düren, Walter Heynowski, Jaecki Schwarz, and Annekathrin Bürger.