Joachim Hellwig
Joachim Hellwig (born March 31, 1932 in Birnbaum , Posen , Poland ; † July 14, 2014 ) was a German documentary film director , dramaturge and author who worked from 1954 to 1991 at the DEFA studio for documentary films in Potsdam - Babelsberg . In 1970 he founded the Artistic Working Group (KAG) futurum ( defa futurum ). After 1991 he worked as a freelance artist, including as an artistic consultant .
Youth and education
Even as a schoolboy , Hellwig worked as a projectionist . After leaving school he worked for the Phoenix movie in Berlin and at the DEFA synchronous department as manager operates. In 1951 he started working for DEFA as a production manager and assistant director, from 1952 to 1954 he worked as an assistant director with Andrew Thorndike, among others .
Activity as a director
In 1954 Hellwig completed his training as a director. At the same time he operated a distance learning course in literature . In the following years he made the following films, among others:
- 1956: To the people , documentation about the development of health care in the country.
- 1957: Synthesis , a formally unusual study of the Ostberliner Rundfunkhaus on Nalepastrasse.
- 1959: The Heusinger case , a propaganda piece about the then General Inspector of the Bundeswehr , General Adolf Heusinger , and his relationship on July 20, 1944.
- 1959: A diary for Anne Frank , a documentation based on the fate of Anne Frank , the National Socialist mass murder and the cooperation between the SS and German industry.
- 1961: How to make Chancellor ; according to Jordan / Schenk a propagandistic “long-term compilation film” about Konrad Adenauer and Franz Josef Strauss .
- 1963: Battle for Germany ; a propaganda film about the role of the KPD and SED in German history from the early 1930s to the present day of production.
- 1972: love 2002
- 1974: The world of ghosts
- 1979: Do you know the country ... A political review , a film for the GDR's 30th birthday
- 1981: In the land of eagles and crosses
- 1990: Fathers of a Thousand Suns
defa futurum
On July 1, 1971, after a long period of preparation, Hellwig founded the Artistic Working Group (KAG) futurum ( defa futurum ). The emergence of this group and their tasks are described in detail in his 1975 dissertation, together with Claus Ritter (1929–1995) at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig , findings and problems, methods and results in the artistic creation of socialist visions of the future in film with special consideration of experiences of AG defa-futurum . The aim of defa futurum was a cinematic socialist response to so-called bourgeois futurology , the influence of which Hellwig feared in the GDR , including from West German television .
The most important characteristics of the group were the working principle of the future of the workshop and the so-called non-feature film; a term that Hellwig took over from the Soviet film director Dsiga Wertow .
After the KAG was dissolved in 1981, Hellwig refrained from further examination of future developments in the GDR and produced documentaries on German history such as In the Land of Eagles and Crosses - Images from German History (1980) and Emperors, Kings and Soldiers (1981) or animal films such as animal and hunting stories (5 parts, 1982–1988). After 1991 Hellwig worked as an artistic advisor for several documentaries on German history.
Prizes and awards
- 1959, Leipzig, main prize for “A diary for Anne Frank”.
- 1963 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver for "Battle for Germany".
- 1970 Art Prize of the GDR (as a collective) for “Here I am human”.
- 1974 Art Prize of the GDR (as a collective) for "Who loves the earth" .
- 1979 National Prize of the GDR 2nd class (in a collective) for the entire work.
Publications
- with Claus Ritter: Findings and problems, methods and results in the artistic design of socialist visions of the future in film with special consideration of the experiences of the AG defa-futurum, Leipzig OCLC 313111124 (joint dissertation University of Leipzig, Philosophical Faculty, 1975. 373 pages).
- with Claus Ritter: Journey into the 3rd millennium: scenario for a non-fictional film . Defa, Artistic Working Group Profile, Berlin 1969 DNB 577199889 .
- With Armin Müller among others: Battle for Germany , Berlin (East) 1968.
- With Claus Ritter: Papa's cinema. Also a “moral” story from the film , Berlin (East) 1964.
- With Claus Ritter: Have a couple of nice hours ... (go to the cinema) , Berlin (East) 1963.
- With Wolfgang Weiss: How to make Chancellor , Berlin (East) 1962.
- With Hans Oley: Picture book of the strong man , Berlin (East) 1962.
- The Heusinger case , Berlin (East) 1959.
literature
- Entry by Joachim Hellwig in: Günter Jordan, Ralf Schenk (editor): Black and white and color. DEFA-Dokumentarfilme 1946-92 , Jovis, Berlin 1996, pp. 401f, ISBN 3-931321-51-7 (2nd, corrected and expanded edition 2000).
- Rolf Liebmann: Film documentarists of the GDR , State Film Archive of the GDR , Berlin 1969, DNB 945311680 .
- Sonja Fritzsche: East Germany's Werkstatt Zukunft: Futurology and the Science Fiction Films of defa-futurum , in: German studies review, Volume 29, Issue 2 (2006), pp. 367–386.
- Simon Spiegel: Pictures of a better world. The utopia in non-fictional film , Marburg 2019, pp. 179–211. ISBN 978-374100340-0 .
Web links
- Joachim Hellwig in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Joachim Hellwig at filmportal.de
- Joachim Hellwig at the DEFA Foundation
Individual evidence
- ↑ Newsletter of the DEFA Foundation 2014, No. 4, p. 6.
- ^ A diary for Anne Frank Filmdatenbank, DEFA Foundation website, accessed on November 5, 2019
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hellwig, Joachim |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German documentary film director, dramaturge and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 31, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pear Tree , Poznan, Poland |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 14, 2014 |