SECTION: What remains of history

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Good Bye, Lenin! meets strike protests in the Gdansk shipyards. What is left of the uprisings against the communist dictatorships in the GDR, Poland and Hungary? From intimate portraits of their own family histories to unheralded heroines, these films ask: How is history reinterpreted, and why? Highly relevant in the face of resurgent totalitarian structures in Eastern Europe.The film series is sponsored by the Bundesstiftung für Aufarbeitung (Federal Foundation for Reappraisal).

DIARY FOR MY FATHER AND MOTHER

NAPLÓ APÁMNAK, ANYÁMNAK

Márta Mészáros,
HU / 1990 / 111 min

Between Stalin's reign of terror and personal drama, Juli searches for answers about the mysterious disappearance of her parents in the turmoil of the Hungarian popular rebellion and begins a fateful affair.

GOOD BYE, LENIN!

Wolfgang Becker,
DE / 2003 / 120 min

Turbo capitalism meets nostalgia. When his mother wakes up from coma, Alex has to make the German Democratic Republic (GDR) come back to life. Wolfgang Becker's cult classic turns 20 and humorously reflects topics that correlate with the collapse of ...

JOHNNY & ME: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME WITH JOHN HEARTFIELD

Katrin Rothe
DE/AT/CH / 2023 / 104 min

Plagued by a crisis of meaning in her life, graphic designer Stefanie stumbles through a magical time tunnel directly into the studio of photo collage pioneer John Heartfield and discovers the political power of art. A visually powerful journey ...

MAN OF IRON

CZŁOWIEK Z ŻELAZA

Andrzej Wajda
PL / 1981 / 153 min

Revolt and betrayal! While work is at standstill at Gdansk’s shipyards, a has-been journalist is given the order of collecting incriminating material against the strike leader. Thrilling political drama about the formation of ...

MARCH ´68

MARZEC ʼ68

Krzysztof Lang
PL / 2022 / 120 min

A story like Romeo and Juliet set against the backdrop of student riots and public antisemitism in socialist Poland of 1968. Does a young love stand a chance between hate campaign, citizens’ militia and an intrigue of the secret service?

MY FREEDOM

MANA Brīvība

Ilze Kunga-Melgaile
LV / 2023 / 107 min

Latvia in turmoil. Stubborn Alicija becomes the star of the Latvian liberation movement, but soon she finds herself confronted with intrigues that affect her private life deeply and put her fight to the test.

STRAJK – DIE HELDIN VON DANZIG

STRAJK - BOHATERKA Z GDAŃSKA

Volker Schlöndorff
DE/PL / 2006 / 104 min

From shipyard to world history. Gripping biopic by Volker Schlöndorff. A crane operator rebels against Poland's socialist system and becomes a secret legend in the hope of a better future for her son.

Woe to the Vanquished - The Workers' Uprising, 17 June 1953

WEHE DEN BESIEGTEN – DER 17. JUNI 1953

Andrea Ritterbusch
GDR / 1990 / 87 min

The rebellion that shook the GDR: On June 17, 1953, one nation stands up to their oppressors. With archive footage and touching interviews with contemporary witnesses, Andrea Ritterbusch tells the story of one of the darkest days in the GDR.