DEFA
- Solo Sunny - Alle meine Mädchen - Die Verlobte - Bürgschaft für ein Jahr - Märkische Forschungen - Dein unbekannter Bruder - Das Luftschiff - Moritz in der Litfasssäule - Erscheinen Pflicht - Ete und Ali - Die Entfernung zwischen dir und mir und ihr - Die Architekten - Die Beunruhigung - Simplicius Simplicissimus -

In 1975, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) signs its final communiqués in Helsinki. While tension is relieved on an international level, internal problems in the GDR increase: After giving a concert in Cologne in 1976, critical singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann is denied re-entry into the GDR because of "remarks hostile towards the state". Biermann′s expatriation throws the entire East German cultural scene into turmoil. Many artists, actors and writers who support Biermann consequently leave the GDR – more or less voluntarily.

In the 1970s, DEFA successfully returns to contemporary films. In 1980, Solo Sunny causes a sensation. It is a film by Konrad Wolf, one of the most widely renowned DEFA directors, president of the GDR Academy of Fine Arts and brother of head of the secret service Markus Wolf. The film’s plot deals with a delicate issue, considering the situation in the GDR of the early 1980s: the rebellious singer Sunny′s quest for individual freedom and autonomy. Sunny′s extravagant outfit – a leather jacket, a fox fur, a hairnet – can been seen in the exhibition. Same as the film′s English title track, these items represent Sunny’s attempt to escape from traditional social norms. In the following years, DEFA films repeatedly allude to Wolf′s "Solo Sunny", honouring it as an important contribution to the struggle for greater individual freedom. When leading actress Renate Krößner leaves for West Germany, "Solo Sunny" is withdrawn from the cinemas – the official banning order is on display.

Just as precarious is the subject of Märkische Forschungen (1982, DIR: Roland Gräf), a film released two years later, dealing with the issue of the distortion of history. A professor and a village schoolteacher do research on the biography of a revolutionary poet. The teacher finds out that the poet changed sides and became a reactionary in later years. The professor – well known to the public, influential with the media and afraid that the findings might damage his career – hinders the teacher from publishing the truth.
In the exhibition, you will find the director’s hand-written notes planning the film’s structure, props and an award: Gräf′s film opens at the GDR Film Festival in 1982. Because of its subject, it is agreed even before the festival that the film will not be awarded a prize. "Märkische Forschungen", however, quickly proves to be an outstanding contribution. Sneaking out of the dilemma, a special award is created just for Gräf’s film – "Der Findling".

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, DEFA film production continues as before. The films, however, hardly capture public attention anymore. The atmosphere in the studios becomes tense when mass dismissals start in the mid 1990s. In 1992, the company and its premises are sold to the French conglomerate CGE (Compagnie Général des Eaux, later Vivendi). DEFA is deleted from the Register of Companies in 1994.