Two East German Films to be Screened

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Graduate Group for German and Austrian Studies at the University at Buffalo will screen two gems of East German cinema on Oct. 16 as part of the national tour titled "Rebels Without a Cause: The Cinema of East Germany."

The films, in English with German subtitles, will be shown in conjunction with a visit from the films' director, Egon Günther, one of the most prominent directors of the East German state-run film monopoly Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, better known as DEFA.

He will be accompanied by Berlin-based film historian Ralf Schenk, a prolific author and chronicler of DEFA, which, between 1946 and 1992, produced more than 7,500 films, including many of Günther's until he left for West Germany in 1978.

The first film to be presented on Monday is Günther's sweetly comic feminist film "Her Third" (Der Dritte, 1971, 107 min.), in which a single mother decides to take charge of her love life and strategically select her third and final husband. Schenk will introduce this film at a screening at 10 a.m. in 120 Clemens Hall, North (Amherst) Campus. Günther will take questions afterward.

That evening, Günther and Schenk will attend a screening of Günther's film "Stone" (Stein, 1991, 100 min.) at 8 p.m. at Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St., Buffalo. The film, premiering in the U.S. during this tour, is the last one made by Günther at DEFA. Set during the last days of the East German state, the film offers a highly unusual depiction of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Critics describe Günther as an avant-gardist of East German cinema, a reputation based on his stylistically sophisticated and internationally acclaimed films.

Living under the East German government, however, Günther increasingly was beset with political difficulties, which led to the censorship of several of his films. He finally decided to leave for West Germany in 1978 after his 17-year-old son was arrested and imprisoned for two years for having read a Brecht poem in school.

Günther made an emotional return to the DEFA studio in 1990 to make "Stone," which deals with

issues of exile, resistance to the regime, the relationship between the artist and the state and, in subtle ways, the question of guilt.

The UB Graduate Group for German and Austrian Studies is the locus of German-related research and events at UB and brings together faculty and students from several disciplines, including history, linguistics, media study, philosophy and comparative literature. The group previously has hosted renowned film directors and authors, as well as organized scholarly conferences and talks.

Funding for the graduate group's activities comes from the Metzger Special Events Fund.

For more information about the films, contact Patricia Mazon, associate professor of history, at mazon@buffalo.edu.