Helke Misselwitz on her early films & the influence of photography

As one of the most significant documentary filmmakers of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Helke Misselwitz first gained national recognition within East Germany for her 1988 feature film After Winter Comes Spring. In this, as in much of her work, her sensitive and perceptive interview style creates an intimate frame through which to view the private lives of her contributors. Misselwitz tirelessly seeks out personal stories from ordinary people, an approach which occasionally brought her into conflict with film censors when these stories did not conform to official narratives.
Her talent as an interviewer is more than matched by her technical mastery; with each stunning composition, Misselwitz reveals how individuals move through the world they inhabit, highlighting the subtleties of relations between the individual and the collective. Helke Misselwitz’s work captures the dying years of the GDR through the lens of those who lived through it, providing an extraordinary portrait from a country which no longer exists.

This conversation with Helke and Emily Mason took on Sunday 25 September 2022, as part of the programme Portraits from an Other Germany: The Early Films of Helke Misselwitz. More here: https://www.ica.art/portraits-from-an...