Ausschnittdienst Footage Service Eines der grössten Filmarchive Deutschlands. One of the largest German Film Archives.
About us Our customers gain access to a unique film archive: a stock of over 14,000 film productions with several million meters of film and thousands of hours of program from the first German newsreel after the war to the GDR s last feature film a spectrum of 70 years of German history. Founded in 1950, PROGRESS Filmverleih released all films produced by the state owned East German film company DEFA until the end of the GDR. After the unification of the two German states, the DEFA Foundation transferred the worldwide exclusive exploitation rights to PROGRESS Filmverleih GmbH. On our website you will find a database and an online portal enabling you to view numerous newsreels and documentaries, and order them online: www.progress-film.de/info-page/. The online stock is continuously expanded, more films are digitised and placed online. Our archives The entire stock of cinematic films produced by East Germany s DEFA film studios from 1946 to 1990, including the newsreel Der Augenzeuge ( The Eyewitness ) and other periodicals as well as about 2,000 documentaries of all genres, 950 feature films and 820 animated films Films commissioned by ministries, parties and mass organisations of the GDR, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MfAA films), 1962-1990 The film studio of the National People s Army (the East German armed forces), 1961-1990 The West Berlin Cintec Archive, 1984-2005 The Berlin Zeitzeugen-Archiv Thomas Grimm (Berlin Contemporary Witness archive Thomas Grimm), 1987-2005 The DEFA Foundation s productions from 1999 till today We offer footage for your reports, documentaries, for retrospectives containing known and hitherto unknown historical film material: Post-war period Building socialism The cold war at the borderline between east and west The construction of the wall from the East German perspective Fighting agents and spies Films about culture, sports, youth, science and technology Women s portraits Reports about other socialist countries and from numerous African, Asian and Latin American countries The approaching end of socialism The period after 1990, unification of the two German States 3
DEFA Newsreel Der Augenzeuge The Augenzeuge ( Eyewitness ) forms the most important part of our archives today and is a treasure trove for all historically interested, as well as editors and producers. In February 1946, the first German post-war weekly newsreel Der Augenzeuge premiered in Berlin. By the end of 1980, more than 2,000 weekly editions were created, with a total duration of about 350 hours. The audience was kept in the loop about politics, everyday life and events, industry, agriculture, sports, art, culture and curiosities. During several years the eyewitness slogan was: You see for yourself, you hear for yourself, judge by yourself! The Augenzeuge reported on state visits and political events, current trends, as well as in the film feuilleton on cultural news. Today, the Augenzeuge conveys an enlightening insight into more than three decades of contemporary history, policy in times of Cold War and media policy. The PROGRESS film stock includes numerous other GDR periodicals such as monthlies for the members of the Pioniere youth organisation and the film magazine Kinobox. Documentary Films, Archival Documentation About 2,000 DEFA documentaries from different genres and diverse cinematic spectrum are available to the PROGRESS Film customers. Numerous documents give an overview of the development and history of the former GDR and the state propaganda, mirroring the historical period in which they were created. Reports provide detailed images of the socialism as it was built in East Germany, giving insight in fields such as industry, science, technology, agriculture, environment, nature, animals, sport and culture. A peculiarity in the musical genre were the so-called Disco films, a kind of forerunner of the video clips, depicting short portraits of well-known bands and singers from the 70s/80s. Apart from Socialist realism, some directors succeeded in addressing the subject of art and artists in impressive portraits. For example Jürgen Böttcher alias Strawalde and the internationally awarded long-term documentaries The Children of Golzow, directed by Winfried Junge. Directors Walter Heynowski and Gerhard Scheumann took a special position with their Studio H&S. Their great topic were the upheavals of the 20th century, specifically the Vietnam War, the genocide in Cambodia and the 1973 coup in Chile. The H&S documentaries were screened in more than 75 countries, received numerous awards and thus became a flagship of the East German film. The DEFA also produced children's and youth films with pedagogical, poetic and humorous aspects, as well as sex education films. Since the 50s, the DEFA documentary film studio has also archived material for later projects. Political and social events were captured on film. These films were supposed to reflect the political and cultural life in the GDR. In the 80s alone, 400 shorter or longer films were produced, some of which have never been published. Numerous previously unpublished film clips were made accessible to the interested public. We offer material from the 50s and 60s with extraordinary, sometimes unknown images such as: The demolition of the Berlin City Palace in 1950 The trial of Jehovah s Witnesses in 1950 The trial of the leaders of the popular uprising of June 17, 1953 Reconstruction works on the Berlin Museumsinsel, 1954 The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 5
MfAA movies The DEFA studio for documentaries produced more than 500 films on behalf of the GDR s ministry of foreign affairs (MfAA). These films were produced for being presented abroad and have not been shown in public in the GDR. They give testimony to the reality propagated by the GDR government: worry-free social life, good relations with fellow communist States, and a constant increase in production in agriculture and industry. On the other hand, they also report about people s problems and concerns in an astonishingly honest way. Today, many of the DEFA contemporary films including films that were banned have documentary value as they reflect everyday images and problems of the former GDR. At PROGRESS Filmverleih you will find films with famous german actors such as Hildegard Knef, Angelica Domröse, Jutta Hoffmann, Corinna Harfouch, Katrin Sass, Katharina Thalbach, Nina Hagen as well as Armin Mueller-Stahl, Manfred Krug, Erwin Geschonneck, Ulrich Mühe, Michael Gwisdek, Jan Josef Liefers, Uwe Kockisch. Many of them earned fame transcending the GDR s borders. Also, numerous short films were shot, including the satirical series Das Stacheltier ( The Stinger ) (1953-1964) and Tobias Bremser (1971-1974). DEFA-Feature Films The foundation of the DEFA on May 17, 1946 preceded the founding of the state GDR, which took place on October 7, 1949, by three and a half years. From day one, the DEFA documented the life of the country, awakened dreams and moved its spectators with films of all genres: War and post-war films GDR contemporary films Literature adaptations Fairytale movies Science fiction Crime films Red Westerns Comedies Musicals In total there were about 950 feature films and short films. The very first German post-war feature film was a DEFA production: Die Mörder sind unter uns ( The murderers are among us ) by Wolfgang Staudte, starring Hildegard Knef. DEFA Animated Films In 1955, a separate DEFA studio for animated films was founded, which committed itself to original materials and film adaptions in a precise and affectionate handmade style. In total, more than 820 animated films of various artistic styles and techniques such as silhouettes, dolls, cartoons and relief tricks, photo montage, sand animation and much more, are available. The films were mostly aimed at a children and family audience. These were supplemented by satires for adults, artistic or social- and environmental-political works. 7
Exploitation on behalf of the federal government PROGRESS Film also exploits exclusively, worldwide and commercially on behalf of the Federal Archives and the Foundation Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR (archives of the parties and mass organisations of the GDR), a total of 2,500 films produced on demand of East German ministries, parties and mass organisations. We offer access to documentations of official visits to the GDR as well as official visits of GDR representatives all over the world. Furthermore reports on the public security forces of the GDR such as the People s Police and fire brigade and instructional films. Film Studio of the Armed Forces The films produced by the National People s Army s own film studio broach the issue of the inner German border, as in Auf Wacht an der Staatsgrenze ( On guard at the state border ) Grenzsoldaten in Berlin ( Border guards in Berlin ) or Der Schlag hat gesessen ( That hit home ). Films as Grenzdurchbruch 89 ( Border breakthrough 89 ) or NVAade! report about border guards at the time of the opening of the Berlin Wall and in the after-the-wall society. A total of around 1,500 documentaries, training films and film magazines were mainly addressed at soldiers. They served the socialist military education and political motivation within the army. CINTEC-Archive The Cintec stock documents the end of the GDR and the growing together of both German states from 1985 to 2004 on 5,200 cassettes with about 2,200 hours of film material. The Cintec film and TV Production Company was founded in West Berlin in 1973. Cintec produced for public service broadcasters: documentaries, news and magazine reports about politics and culture. Many hours of raw material were produced documenting the everyday life of both of the merging States as well as the political events of 1989: the fall and demolition of the wall, the monetary union, criminal prosecution of GDR politicians and numerous interviews with contemporary witnesses. Contemporary Witness Archive The Berlin Contemporary Witness archive by Thomas Grimm consists of testimonies of 20th-century personalities from 1987 to 2005: the Oscar-winning film set designer Ken Adam, the Russian politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, and the globalization critic Jean Ziegler, as an example. In-depth interviews also include people who have experienced war, revolutions, exile and concentration camps, such as the writer Jurek Becker, the Soviet dissident Jelena Bonner, and the theologian and East German dissident Rainer Eppelmann. The documentaries of the Grimm archive, in turn, show the difficulties of the unification process after the fall of the wall. Productions of the DEFA Foundation This stock (from 1999 till today) illuminates the work and background of the DEFA studios in interviews with filmmakers such as directors, screenwriters, actors and cinematographers, as well as the further career development after the studios closed. The actress Angelica Domröse, the documentary filmmaker Thomas Heise, the director Peter Kahane, the screenwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase and many others have their say. 9
Services and Licences You can search for free on our website for titles, keywords, etc., and you can view films online. After having registered, you can also order broadcast material. The database and the online film stock are constantly being expanded. For the use of the film material, we will provide you in written with a quote for the licenses, according to the requested scope of rights. You will receive a contract for the use of the footage including all conditions and regulating all other modalities. Service We perform research according to your wishes and topics. We advise you on how to use the footage for any type of production be it film, TV or other media, in cultural events, exhibitions or scientific projects. The films are available for viewing online on our website, or on DVD, Betacam, 35 mm film. For pre-selection of excerpts, video screening facilities are also available on our premises. On request, we can provide you with excerpts and complete films on screening DVDs or as a download. Clips are copied to a data carrier of your choice or for download in all popular formats and resolutions. References All German public service broadcasters, private television stations, film and television production companies in Germany and abroad, and numerous other customers use our archives, from ABC to ZDF, for example: The Vietnam War by Ken Burns, The Vietnam Film Project, USA 2017 Après Hitler, Cinétévé, France 2016 France Allemagne une histoire commune, Point du Jour, France 2016 Songs That Made History, Show of Force, USA 2017 Angel Wagenstein: Art Is A Weapon, Arcadia Pictures, USA 2017 Angela Merkel, Et la Suite Productions, France 2017 The 20th Century Project, NHK, Japan 2015 The Making of Merkel, BBC 2013 Mémoires pour Simone, Les Film du Jeudi, France 2013 11
PROGRESS Filmverleih GmbH Ausschnittdienst Footage Service Friedrichstraße 55 A 10117 Berlin Tel. ++49 30 2400 3300 Fax ++49 30 2400 3399 footage@progress-film.de www.progress-film.de/info-page/ Bildrechte: DEFA-Stiftung, außer S.8 oben und links und S.9 links: Bundesarchiv, Abt. Filmarchiv