The Harvard Film Archive, the Goethe-Institut Boston, and the DEFA Film Library at University of Massachusetts, Amherst are proud to present a rare and comprehensive retrospective of East German cinema. DEFA (1946-92), a state-owned studio, produced over 750 films (many of them at the famous Studio Babelsberg), and in recent international critics' surveys more than a dozen have been voted among the 100 best German films ever. Still, these and other original documentaries or fictional works from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) are largely unknown to audiences both in and outside of Germany. This series presents a selection of significant works crafted by inventive filmmakers who tested the limits of censorship, and whose political engagement and depth add to the creative merit of film history.

For more information about East German films or to buy films, please visit www.umass.edu/defa.