Copyright by Mariana Zaharieva Ivanova 2011
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Copyright by Mariana Zaharieva Ivanova 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Mariana Zaharieva Ivanova Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: DEFA and East European Cinemas: Co-Productions, Transnational Exchange and Artistic Collaborations Committee: Sabine Hake, Supervisor Kirsten Belgum Pascale Bos Hans-Bernhard Moeller David Crew Joan Neuberger DEFA and East European Cinemas: Co-Productions, Transnational Exchange and Artistic Collaborations by Mariana Zaharieva Ivanova, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2011 Dedication For Stanislav and all who spurred my interest in cinema Acknowledgements Like composing a film script, writing a dissertation is a solitary project that involves much patience in researching, structuring and editing each and every paragraph, while harnessing diverse ideas for the creation of “the big picture.” At the same time, this process resembles the realization of a film as a collaborative project: it opens up space for discussion and negotiation, for the consolidation of ideas in formal and informal settings, for advising and agreement on various details that come together to make up this “big picture.” Similarly, the conceptualization of my project spans over several years of graduate work and research and would be unthinkable without the fruitful discussions with fellow students and mentors, and, above all, with my advisor, Dr. Sabine Hake. I would like, therefore, to first and foremost thank Dr. Hake for her unfailing support throughout the years, ever since we met in 2001. She has provided me with timely and wise advice in both private and professional matters, as well as with enthusiasm for this project from its inception. Her abiding encouragement, critical reading, as well as her commitment to debating all my questions have been crucial for my intellectual inquiry into the fields of German cinema and culture. Drs. David Crew, Hans-Bernd Möller and Kirsten Belgum have generously devoted time and energy to discuss and edit my work. With their expertise in the fields of visual culture and intellectual history of Germany and Central Europe, they have inspired me and have made important contributions to this project, for which I am very grateful. I am especially indebted to Dr. Joan Neuberger and Dr. Pascale Bos for their interest in my research. The questions they have raised spurred insights in the study of DEFA and East European co-productions that otherwise would have remained marginalized. Bradley v Boovy has greatly contributed to this project as a brilliant discussion partner, reliable editor and a sincere friend who has taught me how to persevere in difficult times and to stay focused on my intellectual pursuits. The success of this dissertation depended to a large extent on my ability to travel to archives and to conduct innovative research. I wish to thank the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin and the Department of Germanic Studies for providing the necessary funding for research trips to Germany and Eastern Europe, as well as to national and international conferences. Special thanks to the DEFA Foundation in Berlin and the staff of the DEFA Library in Amherst, MA (Barton Byg, Sky Arndt-Briggs and Hiltrud Schulz) who have generously supported my interviews with former DEFA employees, as well as the production of three short film documentaries. In Germany, I profited tremendously from working with Michael Müller at the Federal State Archive, Cordula Döhrer at the Museum for Film and Televison, Nicky Rittmeyer at the Art Academy, Maya Buchholz and Ute Klawitter at the Film Archive, all located in Berlin. These professionals were immensely knowledgeable, patient with my inquiries and pointed me to hidden treasures in their collections. Bärbel Dalichow at the DEFA Film Museum, as well as Tobias Ebbrecht and Tomas Schick at the Film Academy in Potsdam were instrumental in providing me with access to the original libraries, offices and DEFA studios, as well as to personal archives of DEFA directors. Last but not least, Jiří Horníček at the National Film Archive in Prague, as well as Antonia Kovacheva at the Bulgarian National Film Archive in Sofia helped me in retrieving archival materials from scattered locations and in establishing contact to Bulgarian and Czech filmmakers. Of course, my intellectual endeavors would have remained limited without the help of numerous film scholars and friends who offered precious advice, hours and hours vi of stimulating discussions and sincere interest in my project. My personal thanks are due to Ralf Schenk, Sean Allan, Marc Silberman, Larson Powell, Randall Halle, Mila Ganeva, as well as Henning Wrage, Sebastian Heiduschke, Evan Torner and all the participants in the DEFA Summer Film Institutes of 2007 and 2009. They have commented on parts of this dissertation and have helped me expand my perspective on the East German and European cinemas. I also wish to thank my fellow graduate students and colleagues in the Departments of Germanic Studies, History and Italian for being such loyal friends and co-travelers on this journey: Jan Uelzmann and Berna Gueneli whose friendship goes a long way, Jessica Plummer who helped with editing this manuscript, Paola Bonifazio, Christelle Le Faucher and Emily Hillhouse who were always there for me when I needed them. My parents, Zahari and Nikolinka Zaharievi, and my brother Dimtcho Zahariev deserve more than my warm thank-you. From my first engagement with the German language and culture in 1991, they have encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Even though they were not able to read English, my parents have shown lively interest in my research and have collected and mailed me DVDs and reviews in Bulgarian and Russian. Lastly and most of all, my deep and heartfelt thanks to Stanislav. I could not have written my dissertation without your love, humor, and the moments you gave me. For the last two years, you have watched East German films with me, shipped books, visited conferences, shared with me the burdens and the joys of every new day, my passions and my sorrows, my everything. This dissertation is for you and for all who spurred my interest in cinema. vii DEFA and East European Cinemas: Co-Productions, Transnational Exchange and Artistic Collaborations Publication No._____________ Mariana Zaharieva Ivanova, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Sabine Hake This dissertation focuses on film co-productions of the East German film studio DEFA (Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft) with East and West European partners. It revisits patterns of institutional and transnational collaboration during the Cold War in order to challenge the predominant cliché of the isolation of East European film industries. The project seeks to reposition East German cinema within evolving debates on European film, deriving its argument from archival research on production histories and contemporaneous press releases, as well as from correspondence and personal testimonials such as interviews with former East German and East European filmmakers. The discussion is structured around three categories that focus attention on the interplay between the East German studio’s co-production agenda and state-imposed film policy: cultural prestige, popular entertainment, and international solidarity. I devote a chapter to each category in my study, and show how co-productions, as collective enterprises at the intersection of national cinemas, allowed DEFA to compete for internationally renowned film stars and to re-appropriate Hollywood genres by forming viii multinational film collectives and sharing sets, talent, and production costs, while simultaneously negotiating complex economic, political, and market conditions in each host country. This project moves beyond previous approaches to East German film as European cinema’s ‘other.’ DEFA co-productions provide a privileged route into the examination of socialist film production as a state-controlled and ideologically compliant cultural domain, and, at the same time, as a venue for artistic collaborations that challenged the limitations of state censorship and sponsorship. Undoubtedly, East German and East European films were influenced by international developments and responded to them. Focusing on DEFA as a case study, I shed light on the negotiation of cultural policies not only within a discrete film studio, but also among the various institutions involved in filmmaking in Eastern Europe. ix Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................1 The Project of Repositioning DEFA Within European Cinema.....................3 DEFA Co-Productions in the Context of European Cinema ..........................6 Institutions Involved in DEFA Co-Productions............................................10 Artistic and Political Contexts ......................................................................14 Function of the Co-productions Within DEFA.............................................15 Categories of DEFA Co-Productions ...........................................................17 Chapter Outline.............................................................................................21 Chapter 1: Co-Productions for Cultural Prestige: DEFA’s Strategies for