Opening of the Television Museum of the German Film Archive
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Opening of the Television Museum of the German Film Archive Permanent Exhibition: Beginning June 1, 2006 German Film Archive Museum for Film and Televisions Filmhaus at Potsdamer Platz (Sony Center) Potsdamer Str. 2 D - 10785 Berlin 3rd and 4th floors www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Opening of the Television Museum of the German Film Archive Permanent Exhibition: Beginning June 1, 2006 German Film Archive Museum for Film and Televisions Filmhaus at Potsdamer Platz (Sony Center) Potsdamer Str. 2 D - 10785 Berlin Opening Hours: Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Thurs. 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Closed Mondays Tel.: +49 – (0)30 – 300 903 0 [email protected] www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Admission Film and Television Museum Permanent Exhibition Regular: 6 € Reduced: 4.50 € School class per child: 3 € Family ticket, 2 Adults with chrildren: 12 € small Family ticket, 1 Adult with chrildren 6 € Special Exhibitions Regular: 4 € Reduced: 3 € Public Transportation: U-/S-Bahn Potsdamer Platz or Bus M41, 148, or 200 Varian-Fry-Straße Press Contact: Sabine Sasse Tel.: +49–(0)30–300 903-530 Fax: +49–(0)30–300 903-13 [email protected] www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Slide installation at the Museum's entrance Photo: Subuddha Kellner by Regina Schmeken Opening of the Television Museum of the German Film Archive Permanent Exhibition: Beginning June 1, 2006 Raising public awareness of the historical and cultural value of our audio-visual heritage is one of the missions of the newly created Television Museum which will celebrate its opening on May 31, 2006. The Television Museum is to complete the profile of the Filmhaus at Potsdamer Platz, making it a “house of moving images” unlike any other in Europe. The idea of the Museum is to establish a living forum for the past and present of German television at the heart of Berlin. Here the public will be able to rediscover great moments of broadcasting history and to trace the divergent developments of the medium in East and West Germany. Topical debates on media policies will also be conducted against the backdrop of broadcasting history. Previous Special Exhibitions – “Fernsehen macht glücklich” (2002/2003), which explored whether television makes people happy; “Wo Karrieren beginnen” (2003), which focused on the “Das Kleine Fernsehspiel”, a ZDF program that has helped launch the careers of new directors throughout the world over the past forty years; and “Die Kommissarinnen” (2004/2005), which presented female police inspectors from German television series – have strongly confirmed the public’s great interest in topics related to broadcasting history: television now belongs in the museum. The Television Museum is part of the German Film Archive Foundation (SDK) and is funded by Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media. Its construction is being financed by the German Lottery Foundation Berlin and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Television Museum’s development has also been backed by the Berlin Senate Department of Science, Research and Culture; and its construction, by the Berlin Senate Department of Urban Development. Veolia Water has committed itself to sponsoring the Museum’s program until 2012. Other partners include: the public television networks ARD and ZDF, the Media Institution Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb) and the Directors’ Conference of the German State Regulatory Authorities for Broadcasting (DLM). www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Geschlossene Gesellschaft Screen shot: Television Museum – Deutsche Kinemathek / DRA Written by: Klaus Poche Directed by: Frank Beyer Starring: Jutta Hoffmann (Ellen), Sigfrit Steiner (Karl), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Robert) Broadcast on: Nov. 29, 1978, DFF/GDR Television Frank Beyer’s compelling and oppressive film about a couple at the end of its tether is a parable of GDR society in the 1970s. It was broadcast only once, on Nov. 29, 1978, and then shelved for eleven years. It was one of the many films “banished to the basement” for taking a critical look at life in the GDR when the SED (state party of the former GDR) took a harsher line in cultural matters. Writer Klaus Poche and leading man Armin Mueller-Stahl left the GDR shortly afterwards. Mission and Concept of the Museum No other medium has influenced our society and our lives as greatly as television. Without a doubt it is an essential component of our culture: a seismograph of how people feel in our age, a medium of information, provocation and diversion. And each generation has its own memorable television experiences. Be it “Bonanza”, or the classic, originally East German, bedtime show for children “Das Sandmännchen”, Samuel Beckett’s “Das letzte Band” (“Krapp's Last Tape”), the fall of the Wall, the, originally West German, entertaining educational kids’ show “Die Sendung mit der Maus”, the popular soap “Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten”, or September 11 – images that are impossible to forget. Nevertheless, television is a fleeting medium that has long needed a more permanent place than its up-to-the-minute topicality, a place outside its regular position, a place where it can re-encounter its audiences. This is true for both more and less spectacular television events, and especially for the few programs that have survived from its early days when many a gem was quickly erased – either due to a lack of awareness for the significance of the material or simply for economic reasons. In conjunction with its television network partners, the Television Museum hopes to raise public awareness of the historical and cultural value of our audio-visual heritage. www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Raumpatrouille – Sreen shot: Television Museum – Deutsche Kinemathek / WDR Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion Episode 1: Angriff aus dem All (Attack from Space) Directed by: Michael Braun Starring: Eva Pflug (Tamara Jagellovsk), Dietmar Schönherr (Cliff Allister McLane), Wolfgang Völz (Mario de Monti), Claus Holm, Hans Wengefeld First broadcast: Sept. 17, 1966, WDR/ARD, TV series “Raumpatrouille” (“Space Patrol”) was the first German science fiction series. Its budget of 3.4 million marks was very large for the times. But so were its audience ratings of up to 80%. Legendary is also the set design for the spaceship’s command post, with electric irons used as part of the control desk and yoghurt cups as ceiling lighting, and spectacular special effect, considering the technical possibilities then. The series was produced at almost exactly the same time as “Star Trek”, yet Captain Kirk and Co. did not find there way to Germany for another 6 years. The Program Gallery, the Museum’s central installation, will open with a selection of some hundred programs that were broadcast on (East and West) German television over the past 53 years. Visitors can choose their favorites and – if they please– watch them in their entirety. The Program Gallery is linked to a data bank containing background information on each production: the directors, authors, actors and much more. The collection will grow bit by bit as the Museum acquires material for its exhibitions and events. Hence, in the future, the Museum’s profile will not only be defined by its events and exhibitions, but also by the steady growth of its unique inventory of programs. www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Bei Bio Photo: Subuddha Kellner (Video installation in the Hall of Mirrors) Live Talk and Music Broadcast on: April 4, 1984, ARD Nam June Paik was a guest on Alfred Biolek’s program and set up five large video installations. A couple dancing the rock ’n’ roll to “Rock around the Clock” contributed with a vibrant choreography to this spectacle in which the studio audience was also invited to participate. A house of moving images The Filmhaus at the Sony Center currently houses the following institutions under one roof: • The central departments of the German Film Archive Foundation (SDK) – Library, Publications, Collections/Photo Archive, Film Archive and Film Distribution – all of which have always integrated television history into their work. • The Film Museum Berlin with its Permanent Exhibition on German film history and Special Exhibitions on international topics. • The German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb), whose graduates also go on to work in television. • The International Forum of New Cinema, a national and international arena for film and television directors outside the mainstream. • And the Friends of the German Film Archive (FdK) with its two Arsenal movie theaters and a sophisticated program which also includes screenings of television productions. www.deutsche-kinemathek.de Der Pott Screen shot: Television Museum – Deutsche Kinemathek/ WDR Experimental film Adapted from the play “The Silver Tassie” by Sean O’Casey Written and directed by: Peter Zadek First broadcast: Jan. 12, 1971 (Adolf Grimme Prize 1972) “Without a doubt, this production was the climax and conclusion of Zadek’s interest in television electronics. It was the first time he worked with color and electronic cueing. This enabled him to combine completely heterogeneous electronic images, such as studio shots, film sets, real figures, realistic and fantastic elements.” (From: Volker Canaris. Peter Zadek. Der Theatermann und Filmemacher, 1977, p. 256) Mains Topics of the Museum • Television and film • Television, politics and current events • Television and entertainment • Television and video art • Television in the digital age and in the future The Television Museum will draw substantially on the history of television in both East and West Germany. Whenever relevant and feasible, reunited Germany will be examined by exploring both parts of the country. The Television Museum also regards its program as a contribution to the on-going political and cultural dialogue between former East and West Germany. In addition, it will endeavor to cooperate with nearby institutions as well as with other significant institutions in Germany and abroad. The Museum’s activities will also include investigating the results of its historical work in the context of topical debates on media policies.