defilmtv1-5, Exercise 1: How DEFA was run

Model answer:

DEFA was the East German state film studio, founded in 1946 at Babelsberg. The state paid for production, owned the studio, chose the subjects and controlled distribution. Scripts were approved by the studio and by state and party officials, and finished films could be changed or withheld. Films were expected to support socialist values, to teach and to entertain.

Examples of films still remembered (any one): Stars (1959) or I Was Nineteen (1968) by Konrad Wolf; Jacob the Liar (1974) by Frank Beyer; The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973) by Heiner Carow.

Check the dates in a film reference.