The DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the only research center and archive outside of Germany devoted to a broad spectrum of filmmaking from and related to the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany). DEFA (Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft) was the name of the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic.

History

The DEFA Film Library was founded in 1993 by Barton Byg, professor of film and German Studies, and so named after the Deutsche-Film Aktiengesellschaft, the East German film company founded in 1946. Some years after German reunification, in 1997, an agreement with two German partners led to the creation of a collection of East German film journals along with a large collection of 16mm and 35mm prints of DEFA films. More have been added since.

Description

The DEFA Film Library is only archive and study collection of East German films outside of Europe.

Mission

The DEFA Film Library's mission is twofold: to make East German films available and better known outside of Germany, and to broaden the understanding of filmmaking in the GDR and Eastern and Central Europe through critical interdisciplinary and transnational scholarship.

<!---this all looks like copyvio - needs paraphrasing and citing before re-adding--- In order to achieve this mission, the nonprofit organization mounts a multi-tiered effort. Through preservation, research initiatives, production, and cultural programming, the DEFA Film Library: Students from UMass Amherst and the [Five Colleges](https://bliptext.com/articles/five-college-consortium) are involved in all aspects of the DEFA Film Library. Through working on productions, public programming, sales and distribution, and teaching and outreach activities, they gain valuable non-academic experiences in translation, subtitling and research, as well as library, conference and arts management. In February 2019, the DEFA Film Library Endowment was established to support and enhance the mission and activities of the DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst. ## Circulating print archive The DEFA Film Library's collection of theatrical film prints has now grown to almost 500 prints that have been screened at venues throughout North America, including: The [Museum of Modern Art](https://bliptext.com/articles/museum-of-modern-art), [Anthology Film Archives](https://bliptext.com/articles/anthology-film-archives) and the [New York Jewish Film Festival](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-york-jewish-film-festival) in New York; the [Harvard Film Archive](https://bliptext.com/articles/harvard-film-archive) and the [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston](https://bliptext.com/articles/museum-of-fine-arts-boston); the [American Film Institute](https://bliptext.com/articles/american-film-institute) and the [National Gallery of Art](https://bliptext.com/articles/national-gallery-of-art) in Washington, D.C.; the San Francisco [Museum of Modern Art](https://bliptext.com/articles/museum-of-modern-art); the [Museum of Fine Arts, Houston](https://bliptext.com/articles/museum-of-fine-arts-houston); the [Los Angeles County Museum of Art](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles-county-museum-of-art) and the [Hammer Museum](https://bliptext.com/articles/hammer-museum) in Los Angeles; the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://bliptext.com/articles/toronto-international-film-festival); the [Wexner Center for the Arts](https://bliptext.com/articles/wexner-center-for-the-arts) in Columbus, Ohio; [Real Art Ways](https://bliptext.com/articles/real-art-ways) in Hartford, Connecticut; and Darkside Cinema in Corvallis, Oregon. Most visible have been large-scale touring film series that are co-curated by the DEFA Film Library and various partners and which premiere at prestigious cultural institutions. In 2005, The Museum of Modern Art and the [Goethe-Institut](https://bliptext.com/articles/goethe-institut) New York presented the most comprehensive retrospective of East German films ever screened in North America, Rebels with a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany. In 2009, a series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall, WENDE FLICKS: Last Films from East Germany, premiered at the [Los Angeles County Museum of Art](https://bliptext.com/articles/los-angeles-county-museum-of-art), the Hammer Museum, the [Wende Museum](https://bliptext.com/articles/wende-museum), [UCLA](https://bliptext.com/articles/ucla) and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles. For a list of selected curated film series, please visit the website of the DEFA Film Library. ## Research at the DEFA Film Library The on-site research collection includes over 1,000 35 and 16mm prints, DVDs, .mp4 files and over 400 books and periodicals (Filmspiegel, Kino DDR, Film und Fernsehen, epd Film, Deutsche Filmkunst). In addition, **Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at UMass Amherst's W.E.B. Du Bois Library** owns the collection "Social Change and Movements for Social Change," which includes a Cold War Culture Collection with an emphasis on East Germany. **Other Collections:** The **Graphic Art of Anke Feuchtenberger** (a comprehensive collection of early works—including film and theater posters and smaller-scale pieces—made by (East) German artist Anke Feuchtenberger; donated by film director Jörg Foth). **The Carlos Foth Collection** (documents the work of the East German Prosecutor General Carlos Foth, a key player in the legal effort to investigate and punish Nazi war criminals. The collection includes correspondence, case files and legal documents including press articles, speeches, reports, photographs and other research materials and relevant publications. Topics include NS trials, i.e. Robert Mulka, Hans Globke, Adolf Eichmann and Alois Brunner; nuclear weapons /IALANA; East German legal advisory in Cambodia; Weinhold Case and border control in the GDR). **The Jörg Foth Collection** (film scripts, festival catalogs, correspondence, miscellaneous film production and project documents) **The Volkmar Andrä Collection** (Tapes, Vinyl LPs, catalogs, and miscellaneous materials of VEB Deutsche Schallplatten) ## Programming for scholars The DEFA Film Library supports an international network of scholars with a range of regular programming that has helped shape national and international research agendas on (East) German cinema. ## Visiting artists and scholars The DEFA Film Library **Visiting Filmmakers** program brings German film directors to colleges, universities and cultural institutions throughout North America. Featured directors have included [Frank Beyer](https://bliptext.com/articles/frank-beyer), Jürgen Böttcher, Lutz Dammbeck, Andreas Dresen, Jörg Foth, Iris Gusner, Peter Kahane, Helke Misselwitz, Siegfried Kühn, Herrmann Zschoche and [Rainer Simon](https://bliptext.com/articles/rainer-simon). Other visiting artists and scholars have included: **Film historians and scholars**: Monika Albrecht, Seán Allan, Christine Becker, Lothar Bisky, Benita Blessing, Oksana Bulgakova, Burghard Ciesla, Alexander Donev, Stephan Ehrig, April Eismann, [Thomas Elsaesser](https://bliptext.com/articles/thomas-elsaesser), Thomas Fox, Sabine Hake, Dina Iordanova, Konrad Jarausch, Lars Karl, Heinz Kersten, Mario Kessler, Sylvia Klötzer, Thomas Lindenberger, Claus Löser, Hanno Löwy, Tom Maulucci, Larson Powell, Eric Rentschler, Ralf Schenk, Elke Schieber, Ursula Schröter, Lu Seegers, David Shneer, Frank Stern, Evan Torner, Katie Trumpener, Annette Weinke, Johanna Frances Yunker and others. # Summer Film Institutes **11th DEFA Summer Film Institute, UMass Amherst, June 11-17, 2023** **HIDDEN FIGURES: Blackness and Black Experiences in East Germany** For more information and a complete overview of past Institutes, please visit DFL website. # Curated film series **HIDDEN FIGURES: Blackness and Black Experiences in East Germany** [2023, premiere at UMass Amherst and Amherst Cinema] Free film festival that took place in tandem with the 11th biennial Summer Film Institute. It included 15 full-length and short films. **WAGENSTEIN100** [2022, premiere at Amherst Cinema] This retrospective took place on the occasion of Wagensteins 100th birthday and included four feature films by scriptwriter Angel Wagenstein and a documentary about him. **EVERYDAY POETRY: The Early Films of Helke Misselwitz** [2021, premiere at Anthology Film Archives, NYC & Mar del Plata Film festival, Argentina] The most comprehensive retrospective to date that included the nine films the filmmaker produced at the East German DEFA Studios. **Authority & Alterity in East German Movies** [2021, Virtual Festival] A free virtual Summer Film Festival including 20 full-length and short films that included 3 live Zoom events with the film directors and 7 video introductions by experts. **Black Lives in Germany: Resilience – Art – Hope** [Oct. 2021 – April 2022, Virtual Festival] A festival showcasing films by and discussions with Black German filmmakers, actors, scholars and activists! Recordings of all five events are available in the DEFA Film Library’s FILMBOX, a Digital Teaching Archive. **ART & POWER: LUTZ DAMMBECK** [2019, premiere at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.] This eight-city tour included the complete cinematic oeuvre of German filmmaker and media artist Lutz Dammbeck. For more curated film programs and detailed information, please visit the DFL website. # Faculty Research Fellows # Recognition and awards # Current DEFA team