Carlo Carluccio is the director of the DEFA Classics programme at Kino UNION, a historic jewel of a cinema located next to the Friedrichshagen S-bahn station, just a few minutes from the northern shore of the picturesque Müggelsee. A former dance hall built in 1870, the venue has had many lives, being converted into a Kino in 1913 and sustaining bombing damage during World War II. Now a three-screen multifunctional building with plush old-school decor and a bar, it has a regular slate of new films and restorations – a category for which it has made a name for itself.
For a while now, UNION, under the curatorship of Carluccio, has been the go-to spot for cinephiles when they want a slice of East German cinematic history. The DEFA programme aims to showcase and preserve the works made by the state-owned film DEFA (Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft), which was an East Berlin film studio founded in the late 1940s. Carluccio sat down with us to talk a little bit more about the programme, DEFA’s background and the importance of archiving and maintaining film for future audiences.
When you step into UNION for a DEFA film screening, you’re not just watching a movie – you’re immersing yourself in a piece of cinematic history.
First, how did you become involved in the DEFA programme at Kino UNION?
I’m responsible for the film selection at our cinema. And as a former DDR cinema, the idea of showing old DEFA classics had been floating around in my head for a long time. Last November, we finally started to establish the film series, and started with the classic Solo Sunny (D: Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase, 1980). Since then, every month we show a DEFA classic.
For our curious film readers who maybe don’t know much about DEFA films, would you be able to give us a little historical background into these pictures and the institution itself?
DEFA was the state-owned film studio in East Germany from 1946 to 1992, producing a wide range of films including political dramas, children’s films and experimental works. Many of these films were highly stylised and reflected the social and political climate of East Germany. The DEFA programme at UNION is part of a retrospective dedicated to showcasing these films, in collaboration with the institution that preserves and promotes East German cinema. These programmes aim to introduce audiences to historically significant films, provide cultural context and spark discussions on themes like propaganda, censorship and artistic resistance.
What was the intention behind creating DEFA in the first place?
The creation of DEFA in 1946 served several key purposes, both political and cultural, within the Soviet-occupied zone of postwar Germany. Its establishment was deeply tied to the goals of rebuilding German culture, controlling the ideological direction of cinema, and using film as a tool for shaping East German identity.
Photo: IMAGO / Christian Kielmann
How did DEFA come to UNION originally?
Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, the German cinematheque foundation in Berlin, awards the broadcasting rights for DEFA films. We work closely with them when it comes to the rights of German classics.
Other than your screenings at Kino UNION, in what ways is the institution doing archival work?
Deutsche Kinemathek has set itself the task of documenting and researching the history of film and television, and promoting academic and educational engagement with it. It is dedicated to collecting and preserving valuable film material, including materials of significant importance to film and television history, and promotes the dissemination of audiovisual heritage through its own exhibitions, publications, educational offerings, film series and other events. It receives institutional funding from the Minister of State for Culture and the Media. In January 2025, the Kinemathek moved into E-Werk, a former electrical substation in Berlin-Mitte, as a temporary location.
Is there something that defines a DEFA film?
DEFA films are quite diverse in tone and narrative, but they do share some defining characteristics that set them apart from other film traditions, especially those of Hollywood and West Germany. Because DEFA was the state-owned film studio of East Germany, its films were shaped by ideological, artistic and political influences unique to the socialist state.
The DEFA collection is such a goldmine of cinematic history. Have you been able to reach audiences outside of Berlin as well?
Yes! The DEFA collection has gained a growing audience beyond Berlin and even beyond Germany, thanks to ongoing restoration efforts, academic interest and international screenings. While for a long time DEFA films were mostly known within Germany, there has been a renewed appreciation for them worldwide, as they offer a unique glimpse into East German cinema and Cold War-era filmmaking.
What can someone expect when they come down to a screening of one of these restored classics?
When you step into UNION for a DEFA film screening, you’re not just watching a movie – you’re immersing yourself in a piece of cinematic history. These screenings offer a rare opportunity to experience restored classics from East Germany in a communal setting, where the richness of these films can be fully appreciated on the big screen. Before each film, we give a short introduction about the film’s creation and history. Depending on the film, we also have filmmakers on site who were involved in the project.
Could you give our readers some examples of classics in the collection, as a starting point for their exploration into this era of cinema?
For those new to DEFA films, here are some essential touchstone classics that showcase the breadth, artistry and historical significance of East German cinema. These films span various genres, from post-war dramas to fairy tales and even subversive works that challenged the system: The Legend of Paul and Paula (Heiner Carow, 1973), Jakob the Liar (Frank Beyer, 1974), Solo Sunny (Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase, 1980), Trace of Stones (Frank Beyer 1966), Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella (Václav Vorlíček, 1973), Coming Out (Heiner Carow, 1989).
Do you have any plans for the future with the DEFA collection?
We will continue to show a DEFA classic every month in our cinema and will certainly expand the series to show the DEFA fairy tales again, in order to reach the younger target group.
- The Legend of Paul and Paula, May 18, Kino UNION, Bölschestr. 69, Friedrichshagen, details.
