"German Film. From the Archives of the Deutsche Kinemathek"

Deutsches Haus at NYU celebrates the publication of German Film. From the Archives of the Deutsche Kinemathek (Der Deutsche Film. Aus den Archiven der Deutschen Kinemathek) in English and German (Hatje Cantz, 2024) with a presentation of the book by Rainer Rother, Artistic Director of Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek. This will be followed by a conversation between Rainer Rother and Mariana Ivanova (Associate Professor of German Film and Media and the Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts) about the book, the history of German cinema, and the past, present, and future of the Deutsche Kinemathek.

About the book:

offers a captivating journey through the history of German cinema, from the earliest moving images of 1895 to the present day. This richly illustrated volume opens the Deutsche Kinemathek’s archives, illuminating the artistic, technical, political, and social developments that have shaped German film. In twelve chapters, over 420 essays tell the stories of both celebrated and lesser-known films, paying tribute to the creativity of the many personalities who continue to shape German cinema. Featuring more than 2,700 items—from unpublished photographs to historic film posters—the book provides a unique look into a vital cultural heritage. The Deutsche Kinemathek, one of the world’s leading institutions for preserving audiovisual history, safeguards this piece of German film legacy for future generations. A must-have for film enthusiasts, history buffs, and fans of German cinema. More info about the German version of the book, Der Deutsche Film. Aus den Archiven der Deutschen Kinemathek, here.

About the speakers:

Dr. Rainer Rother, Artistic Director and Board Member of Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin, has been head of the Berlinale’s Retrospective since 2006. He is also responsible for the Berlinale Classics. He studied German literature and history and completed his doctorate in 1988. From 1989 to 1991, he was lecturer at the University of Hanover and from 1991 to 2006, he was director of the cinematheque of the German Historical Museum (Berlin), where he established the Zeughauskino and also curated exhibitions (incl. The German Empire of Images. Ufa 1917-1945; The Final Days of Humanity. Images of the First World War; Paths of the Germans 1949-1999. Unity and Law and Freedom; The World War 1914-1918. Event and Memory). He has primarily published articles on film in journals such as Merkur and in various newspapers (FAZ, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Frankfurter Rundschau). He has regularly contributed to books and lexicons and has published numerous books, as an author amongst others: “No Angels: Mae West, Rosalind Russell, Carole Lombard” (2021), “Time Pictures. Films of National Socialism” (2019), “Nina Hoss” (2009), “Leni Riefenstahl. The Seduction of Talent” (2000); as a publisher: “German Film. From the Archives of the Deutsche Kinemathek” (2024), “King Vidor” (2020), “Selbstbestimmt. Perspektiven von Filmemacherinnen” (2019), “Weimarer Kino – neu gesehen” (2018), “Linientreu und populär: Das Ufa-Imperium 1933 bis 1945“ (2017), and “Film Dictionary” (1997).

Dr. Rother has also published various exhibition catalogs, most recently on the co-production of the World Heritage Völklinger Hütte and the Deutsche Kinemathek “Der deutsche Film. From 1895 to the Present Day” (2024). From 2001 to 2019, Rother was a member of the selection committee of the Competition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Between 2004 and 2006, he co-curated the Berlinale series Selling Democracy. In April 2006, Rother was appointed artistic director of the Deutsche Kinemathek and head of the Berlinale’s Retrospective section. In 2025, he was awarded the Berlinale Camera at the Berlin International Film Festival. He is an honorary member of the German Film Academy.

Mariana Ivanova is Associate Professor of German Film and Media and the Academic Director of the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts. Her scholarship focuses on twentieth- and twenty-first-century German and European cinemas and cultures, theories of transnational filmmaking and co-production, artistic networks, and cultural mediation. Her 2020 monograph, Cinema of Collaboration: DEFA Coproductions and International Exchange in Cold War Europe, responds to the need to rethink socialist cinemas, and in particular East German cinema, within the constantly evolving discursive space of European filmmaking.

Ivanova is the co-editor of the 2024 volume Science on Screen and Paper: Media Cultures of Knowledge Production in Cold War Europe and co-editor of the Berghahn book series Visual and Media Cultures of the Cold War and Beyond. She is the director of several short films and interviews with East German and Eastern European filmmakers and her research has appeared in numerous international scholarly journals as well as commentaries on DVD and Blu-ray special editions. She is currently co-editing a bilingual volume titled “Quo Vadis, DEFA? New approaches to East German Cinema” that is expected to appear in 2026 with Springer Verlag.

Attendance:

While NYU has ended COVID-19 related restrictions and policies, we continue to remind and recommend to members of the NYU community that they stay up-to-date on their boosters and stay home if they feel sick. Masks are always welcome.

Host or Publisher Deutsches Haus at NYU