October 25 (Monday) 9 pm
Directed by Konrad Wolf
East Germany 1957, b/w, 16mm, 89 min.
With Sonja Sutter, Horst Drinda,
Hans-Peter Minetti, Kurt Oligmuller
German with English subtitles
After emigrating with his parents to Russia following the Nazi takeover in 1933, German-born Konrad Wolf began a stint as an officer in the Red Army. Shortly after the war ended, he began to study film under Sergei Gerasimov, and within a few short years, he had worked on the script for and directed Lissy. Set in 1931-32 Berlin, the film revolves around the young Lissy Schroder, whose pregnancy initiates a string of misfortunes concerning her and her family. A father, brother and husband on differing planes of the political spectrum leaves Lissy adrift in the confusion of the times.
October 25 (Monday) 7 pm
Directed by Konrad Wolf
East Germany 1958, b/w, 16mm, 92 min.
With Sascha Kruscharska,
Jurgen Frohriep, Erik S. Klein, Stefan Pejtschew, Georgi Naumow
German with English
subtitles
An East German-Bulgarian co-production, Stars is Wolf’s best known film, one whose enthusiastic response at Cannes led to a special Jury Prize. The film, written by a Bulgarian Jew, tells the story of a German Soldier who falls in love with a young Jewish girl in 1943 Bulgaria. As the soldier begins to realize the fate that awaits the woman, he makes the difficult decision to try to save her. Wolf manages to tell this haunting tale without falling prey to melodramatic cliches. Instead, he allows the weight of the story and the film’s realistic imagery to convey the period’s horror.
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