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From their very inception, European cinemas undertook collaborative ventures in an attempt to cultivate a transnational "Film-Europe." In the postwar era, it was DEFA, the state cinema of East Germany, that emerged as a key site for cooperative practices. Despite the significant challenges that the Cold War created for collaboration, DEFA sought international prestige through various initiatives. These ranged from film exchange in occupied Germany to partnerships with Western producers, and from coproductions with Eastern European studios to strategies for film co-authorship. Uniquely positioned between East and West, DEFA proved a crucial mediator among European cinemas during a period of profound political division.
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction Chapter 1. The Legacy of 'Film Europe': DEFA's Coproductions with France
Chapter 2. Film Exchange beyond the Bans: Erich Mehl's Partnership with DEFA
Chapter 3. Competing with the West, Running with the East: Creating Utopia in DEFA Artistic Production Units
Chapter 4. Writing Together: DEFA's Biopics in the Context of European Cinema
Epilogue: Heritage, Continuity, and Collaboration
Select Bibliography
About the author
Mariana Ivanova is Associate Professor of German Film and University of Massachusetts Amherst and Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library. She is co-editor of the book series Film and the Cold War with Berghahn Books. In addition to her scholarly publications, she is also the creator of several short documentaries about former DEFA filmmakers
Summary
Almost from their very inception, European cinemas frequently undertook collaborative ventures in an attempt to cultivate a transnational "Film-Europe." Despite the significant obstacles that the East/West divide presented to achieving that ideal, in the postwar era it was DEFA where these practices persisted.
