defa spectrum

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The defa-spectrum GmbH was on 17 February 2006 as a subsidiary of DEFA Foundation founded. Her main task was the distribution of the documentary film archives managed by the DEFA Foundation. At the end of 2012 defa-Spektrum GmbH was dissolved.

Archives

The archive holdings currently include materials from the Thomas Grimm contemporary witness archive, the Cintec archive, films from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR, productions from the DEFA Foundation and films produced in cooperation with Studio Babelsberg AG, Icestorm Entertainment and DEFA Foundation . This unique collection contains interviews and documentaries that are related in different ways to the history of the GDR. It comprises about 10,000 hours of material, which are an individual testimony to human experience and reflect the eventful decades of the last century in a unique diversity.

Contemporary witness archive Thomas Grimm

In the Thomas Grimm contemporary witness archive, people have their say who write their own, very personal story in interviews. There are well-known personalities from politics and society, as well as ordinary people, who tell their exciting experiences from the time of the world wars, the German division and reunification. The subjectivity of oral history sets counterpoints to traditional factual historiography.

Cintec archive

The Cintec archive mainly covers the years around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The situation at the Wall before reunification is mostly captured from a West German perspective and describes the mood in divided Germany. The majority of the documentaries record the individual steps of merging after the opening of the wall: the emotions of the people when the wall was torn down, patrolling border guards, the problems that the monetary union brought with it, for example, or the contradicting feelings of people about the new social situation.

Films from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR has commissioned over 500 documentaries in the DEFA studio for documentary films. These propaganda films were produced for presentation abroad and mostly not shown publicly in the GDR. The films bear witness to the reality propagated by the GDR government: from the carefree social life, from the good relationships with friendly communist regimes and the constant increase in production in agriculture and factories. In some cases, however, they also report in an astonishingly honest way about the problems and concerns of the population.

DEFA Foundation productions

The DEFA Foundation's productions consist of interviews with people associated with the DEFA film. Former directors, cameramen and actors as well as founding members talk about the heyday to the closure of the studios.

DVD bonus materials

ICESTORM Entertainment has been commissioned to publish the DEFA films on DVD. The bonus materials produced for this were created in cooperation with Studio Babelsberg AG and the DEFA Foundation and are in part distributed by defa-Spektrum GmbH. Here you will find exciting internal information from different departments of DEFA production, excerpts and photos from stage plays that were created after these films, and comments from the actors, directors and cameramen involved. defa-Spektrum will continuously expand its offer and include further topic-related archives in its inventory.

Viewing and transferring

defa-Spektrum provides sighting devices for 35mm, U-matic, Beta SP, DigiBeta, miniDV, DVD and VHS. Private and commercial transfers of your own or third-party materials from these formats to DVD or VHS can also be commissioned.

Photo distribution

defa-Spektrum distributes the photos from the DEFA Foundation's rights portfolio. This includes not only photos of the documentaries from the company's own license inventory, but also those of all films produced in the DEFA studios. This includes scene pictures, poster photos and posters.

Publications

The DEFA Foundation is the publisher of various books and other publications that are thematically closely linked to GDR film history and DEFA film production. Scientific works that have been created with funding from the DEFA Foundation are also published. defa-Spektrum is in charge of their sales.

rental

Defa-Spektrum began lending activities in December 2006. The aim of this activity is to bring German documentaries and fiction films into the cinemas that are related to the present and invite you to travel through place and time, to people and special events. Projects funded by the DEFA Foundation are particularly considered.

Previous films

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