Laboratory technician Jutta and factory worker Peter have been a couple since the summer and are enjoying their time together. One day, Jutta realizes that she might be pregnant. The doctor doesn't want to make a preliminary diagnosis until Monday - and today is Friday. The weekend is a tough test...
On a forest road in the Brandenburg March, village teacher Potsch accidentally encounters the distinguished Professor Menzel, who got stuck there in his car. In the conversation that ensues, Menzel and Pötsch quickly discover that they both are great admirers of the early 19th-century writer Max...
A creature bearing the ominous name "Mishap" is hot in pursuit of an unfortunate lumberjack and eventually decides to live with him. It soon gets bored, however, and asks the lumberjack to hand it over to the rich merchant Habermoos. Habermoos manages to sell Mishap to the king, although he is...
A murder has been committed in "Pension Boulanka", a famous guesthouse for artists and circus people. Captain Bruckner is heading the investigating team.
The young Friedrich Freiherr von Kuhlbanz died almost 300 years ago, but he is cursed beyond death. "I will not rot in my grave if I have committed the murder of the shepherd Dühn", the squire once swore and became a legend as the mummy of Roggelin. One night, Maja meets the ghost of Friedrich in...
The television play by Werner Bernhardy depicts episodes from the life of Heinrich Zille as well as his much-praised "Milljöh". It tells of Zille's dismissal from the Berlin Photographic Society, of Kommerzienrat Hübel and his wife, of Zille's unreal, loyal friend Gustav Nogler, in whose role the...
Melanie van der Straaten has the courage to separate from her wealthy, unloved husband and settle down with a new partner, defying all societal restrictions, in humble living circumstances. When her first husband blackmails her after the divorce with the children, Melanie faces her new life with...
Berlin in the 1960s. Olaf and Horst are two young metalworkers, who provoke their older colleagues with critiques of the antiquated equipment and lack of materials... not to mention their love of leather jackets and motorbikes. Olaf and Horst begin to be targeted in the house newsletter, and the...
A detailed reconstruction of the censorship case against the landmark Weimar-era communist film, Kuhle Wampe, or Who Owns the World? (1932). Directed by Slatan Dudow, the crew and cast included left-wing luminaries, such as playwright Bertolt Brecht, composer Hanns Eisler and balladeer Ernst Busch....
In the middle of the 18th Century, the Ruster family immigrates to America. The father, a former farm laborer, leads a hard life as a settler along with his family. One day the nine year-old George, his second-youngest son, is kidnapped by Iroquois. He is taken in by an Indian family in the place...
A depiction of class conflicts in Germany between 1918 and 1945. The Spartacist Erwin is shot by officers in 1918, and his pregant working-class bride Marie begins a new relationship with social democrat Geschke. Erwin's son Hans grows up to be a communist like his father, leading to bitter hatred...
The paths of many people cross before Christmas Eve. Each of them has their own special story to tell on this day... On the morning of December 24, the doctor at the children's clinic leaves the hospital with a happy heart. The parents of little Matthias have reconciled with each other. As a...
World War II is over and Heinrich, a young German boy, influenced by the Russians, starts to act according to Communist principles in a small German village.
Children are introduced to the magical world of cinema in a cheerful and fantastic way; embedded in a turbulent story, they learn about the film professions. A young author, Alice, has written a story and travels to the DEFA feature film studio where this story is to be realized. On the way there,...
Shortly before his retirement, Gustav Wanzka wants to return to his beloved profession as a teacher after years of working as a district school inspector. As soon as he arrives at the station, he meets the boy Norbert Kniep, his future pupil, who clearly surprises him with his questions. He wants...
In the crisis-ridden Germany of the 1920s, the desperate Frieda Hausmann pretends to be her deceased husband Wilhelm so that she can support her family by employing him as a porter.
Stefan's mother is interviewed by a television crew at her home. On the subject of how a single mother, who is actively involved in the work process, copes, the son, who is present, only gives snotty answers. Stefan works as an apprentice bricklayer and helps to build the French Cathedral on...
Old Otto Gratzick is a porter at DEFA and a great admirer of Asta Nielsen. When the famous actor Hermann Gschwindner dies shortly before the end of his film, the director is looking for a double for the final scenes and discovers Otto in the movie theater, who has just been moved by Asta again....
