The lectures and discussions at the 38th International Film History Conference will explore the festival’s main themes in depth in thematically coordinated panels.
The differences in the relationship between writers and film in East and West Germany will be highlighted in two keynotes: Hans-Michael Bock and Michael Töteberg will discuss the “broken relationship” between literature and film in the Federal Republic, while Anett Werner-Burgmann will focus on the interrelationships in the GDR. Six thematic panels present examples of authors whose work reflects the relationship between writing and film in their own unique ways: Andy Räder analyzes Uwe Johnson’s documentary strategies using SUMMER IN THE CITY as an example, while Jonathan Ciesla explores Wolf Wondratschek’s cinematic experiments. Heike Klapdor, in turn, examines Peter Weiss’s intermedia art. One panel deals with two authors in the GDR: Michael Töteberg traces the footsteps of the controversial author Franz Fühmann, and Johanna Deventer analyzes Manfred Bieler’s DAS KANINCHEN BIN ICH and the consequences of the film’s ban.
Other contributions focus on the Mann family: Sandra Nuy examines Klaus Mann’s relationship with Hollywood, while Tereza Brdečková introduces Heinrich Mann’s son-in-law, Ludvík Aškenazy. His son Jindrich Mann, himself a writer and screenwriter, adds a personal perspective to the lecture. Peter Ellenbruch and Liane Schüller take a look at popular forms of storytelling in their contribution on Eduard Rhein, who published serialized novels in HörZu under the pseudonym Hans-Ulrich Horster, many of which were made into films. Bastian Heinsohn highlights the journalistic and cinematic activities of Will Tremper, while Andreas Jacke analyzes the screenwriter and bestselling author Johannes Mario Simmel and the film adaptation of his novel ALLE MENSCHEN WERDEN BRÜDER. Finally, Michael Wedel and Andrea Kresimon use the examples of Horst Bienek and Ingeborg Bachmann to show the importance of film and cinema in their work.