Titel Kino 2/2001(2 Alternativ) - German Films

FILM ARCHIVES AND FILM MUSEUMS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC
The Film Museum Düsseldorf, opened in 1993, developed
from the nucleus of community film work. Its exhibition documents
the collecting activities begun by the city of Düsseldorf
at the end of the seventies. By contrast to Frankfurt, where the
first part of the permanent exhibition offers a clearly subdivided,
didactic tour on the history of perception in film, the makers
in Düsseldorf have brought together the experience and the
history of film in a style resembling a mosaic, distributed throughout
various rooms on three floors; here it is possible to find the
fan cult, a look back to shadow theater, and alongside this, a
presentation of the technical collection.
The fourth and most recent film museum in the Federal Republic,
the Film Museum Berlin, established in the Sony Center at
Potsdamer Platz, has had a varied history. During the eighties
there were already plans to present the collection of the SDK in
a museum to be housed in the former Hotel ”Esplanade“ beside
the Potsdamer Platz, which was not built on at all at that time.
However, the fall of the Wall and tugs of war over new
construction work on Potsdamer Platz meant that the planned
museum was put on ice, and its official opening was not possible
until September 2000. Its permanent exhibition follows the thread
Expressionist Studio Exhibit/German Film Museum Frankfurt (photo © German Film Museum)
of Berlin film history; beginning with a gallery of shimmering film
images, it presents the pioneers and the early divas of German
film, concentrates on the classics of silent film in Germany, and
also focuses on the years between 1933 and 1945, which meant
collaboration for some and exile for others. The exhibition
”Artificial Worlds“ on the history of special effects completes
the tour.
Collections
The archives and museums with their different emphases guarantee
diversity in collection, although German film dominates, of
course. But this widely scattered archive scene also compensates
for a deficit in post-war film history in the Federal Republic: there
is no central film library. Ultimately, plans for this failed because of
the Republic’s federal structure, which gives each state cultural
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sovereignty. It was not until 1978 that the regulations of the
Association of German Film Archives were developed
to take over the tasks of a central film library. The three large
archives are full members of this association, whilst the film
museums of Frankfurt, Munich, Potsdam and Düsseldorf are also
co-opted members.
There is no legal deposit in the Federal Republic – no duty to
deposit current film material as there is in some other European
countries. The Federal Archive in Koblenz concerned itself
primarily with the collection of documentary films. Not until
1974 was the policy of collecting complementary copies of all
films sponsored by the Federation introduced at the largest
German archive, now holding around 150,000 titles. Nonetheless,
the Federal Film Archive, which must limit itself to
German productions, is dependent on acquisitions or donations
in order to complete its collection. It also offers producers a
contractually regulated deposit – long-term surrender – of the
negative of a film.
Within this system, the small archives in particular offer a
guarantee that the marginal fields of film are also collected:
independently produced
films, advertising films,
experimental films which
often work using exotic
formats such as Super 8
and often only exist
as unique copies. The
Film Museum Munich
(without exhibitions, but
with a community cinema)
has a large collection
of films by German-author
filmmakers dating from the
sixties until today available
in its archives.
The lending conditions and
prices of archives differ; but
non-commercial users such
as educational institutions or
community cinemas are
usually given reductions.
Initial information may be
found on the websites of
German archives and
museums (cf. address list
p. 14), where there are
usually also lists of people
to contact and their e-mail
addresses. Versions of
German films with subtitles
are only available in very
limited numbers in the archives. Subtitled versions in English,
French and Spanish, for example, usually in 16 mm format, are
offered by the Goethe Institute Inter Nationes, which is
responsible for the presentation of German culture abroad.
For information about the collection, the people to approach
are those at the individual Goethe Institutes.
All the archives are making constant efforts to extend and to
complete their collections. The widest range of collected objects
is surely to be found at the four film museums in Berlin, Düsseldorf,
Frankfurt and Potsdam. These do not only collect film
copies, but also technical exhibits, photos, film programs, screenplays,
production documents, posters and press pull-outs.
Amongst the most fascinating collected objects in the museums
are designs for costumes and scenery, for in a certain way, these
anticipate the images of a film. The largest collection of this kind
is probably owned by the SDK with works including those of