Kritische Zone Vergangenheit: Von Unbehagen und Widerspruch

In the organizer's words:

Using two works of art from the GDR as examples, Dr. Claus Löser talks to Gabriele Stötzer and Steffen Reck about the motivations behind their very different works and their impact on the public and society.

Gabriele Stötzer Veitstanz/Feixtanz
Doc GDR 1988, director, screenplay, camera, editing, production: Gabriele Stötzer, 25 minutes

The phenomenon of St. Vitus' dance originated in the Middle Ages, when groups of adults and children danced themselves into unconsciousness in public. In 1988 in Erfurt, 13 women and men transformed the power of such a ritual into an artistic statement.
"This film, which was shot in the GDR - the land of socialist dictatorship - is an expression of the freedom that is inherent in all of us, if we take it"
- Gabriele Stötzer

The Hunters of the Lost Mind Theater Zinnober, 1982
Doc D 2024, Director: Sylvie Kürsten + Steffen Reck, 17 minutes
The film is presented with the kind permission of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

"At the third puppet theater festival (of the GDR) in Magdeburg in 1982, the production received the "Förderpreis des Ministers für Kultur für die Weiterführung der Kasperspieltradition". The prize was practically invented for this event, as the group did not want to receive a festival prize. Although this created official recognition, the group was repeatedly forced into illegality, which resulted in numerous performance bans. Nevertheless, the play was performed with great success in the GDR until 1989, and later also in Holland and West Germany in front of large audiences."
www.reckweb.de

Gabriele Stötzer studied at the Erfurt University of Education, was exmatriculated in the mid-1970s for political reasons and imprisoned for a year. She has worked as a freelance artist since 1980. After 1990, she published books, took part in several international exhibitions and worked as a lecturer in performance at the University of Erfurt.

Steffen Reck is a founding member of the Zinnober theater group (1979), where he directed "Die Jäger des verlorenen Verstandes" (1982) and performed in "traumhaft" (1985). He works as an independent filmmaker in Berlin-Kreuzberg. His film "gesicherte ufer" (1990) was digitized in 2023 as part of the program "Safeguarding the audio-visual heritage in Saxony".

Dr. Claus Löser studied film in Potsdam-Babelsberg and wrote his doctoral thesis on independent artists' films in the GDR. He works as a film critic, filmmaker, author and curator.

Off Europa is an office for off-theatre production and is organized in cooperation with the venues LOFFT - DAS THEATER in Leipzig and Klub Solitaer e.V. / OFF-Bühne KOMPLEX in Chemnitz.
Off Europa is mainly financed by the City of Leipzig - Cultural Office.
Off Europa: Critical Zone is funded by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony. This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.