Jürgen Böttcher

A German television format in which Günter Gaus interviewed prominent members of German society, particularly politicians. More than 200 interviews were conducted over the course of 40 years.

A black-and-white documentary film about the large housing estate "Lütten Klein" in the northwest of Rostock in June 1968. On the basis of the construction worker and shop steward Hans Schmidt, the efforts to fulfil the plan are clearly shown, even if the supplies and weather conditions are not optimal. The group meeting of the construction brigade shown here describes, among other things, the hardships and disappointments of some of the workers on the construction site. On the other hand, the construction management and shop steward Schmidt try to motivate the workers to achieve even higher performance by demanding competition and obligations.

In this film about apprentices of the Rewatex laundry, Böttcher once again turns to the focal concern of almost all his films the attempt to report as truthfully and impressibly as possible on the life of workers. Böttcher takes the audience into the midst of a seemingly unknown environment only to let them realize how familiar this world in fact is.

At the Eisenhüttenkombinat Ost an der Oder, a new blast furnace is being moved to replace a burnt-out one. 2000 tons have to be moved 18 meters: Three times we hear it in the commentary. Master Klaus is now in command. His orders are to be obeyed at all costs. Men at work: tense faces, examining hands, the sound of screeching winds and steel cables stretched to breaking point. Everything is going well, and it is a new best performance: The downtime of the plant has been reduced from 80 to 40 days, the commentary says.

Presentation of a commited State Party secretary at the Chemicals Combine in Buna. A former miner and small farmer rises to a leading political position.

This color documentary tells the story of the "Mamais." In 1960, a group of workers at the Bitterfeld chemical plant set themselves the task of becoming the first "socialist brigade" in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to act in accordance with the slogan "Work, learn, and live socialist."

Originally banned in 1966, East German director Jürgen Böttcher's tale of love and disillusionment among two newlyweds attempting to navigate the treacherous world of marriage was never officially released in his homeland until after reunification in 1990.

Some months after the fall of the Berlin wall, during the time of federal elections in Germany in 1990, Chris Marker shot this passionate documentary, reflecting the state of the place and its spirit with remarkable acuity.

Grabe's film about his friend, fellow filmmaker, and painter Jürgen Böttcher aka Strawalde.

Martha Bieder is the last rubble-woman in Berlin Rummelsburg. Every day, rain or shine, she stands at the conveyor belt - as she has for decades - sorting through rubble. After a retirement party thrown for her by her male colleagues, she tells her story of being a rubble-woman in post-war Germany.

Documentary on the 1000-year-old town of Weimar. The film presents an example of the victory of humanist traditions over nazi brutality.

Interview with Jürgen Böttcher about his filmmaking practice conducted and directed by Christoph Hübner

Sculptor Makolies is filmed working on a sculpture in the middle of a quarry in Swiss Saxony. The quarry workers go about their work around him. Both the work in the quarry and the work on the large figure in sandstone require strenght and conscientiousness. This film observers both types of work, without comparing them.

A DEFA documentary celebrating the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in East Berlin in the summer of 1973. Blending reportage with staged elements, it presents the festival as a showcase of international solidarity, culture, and socialist ideals.

Experienced shunters working at the Dresden-Friedrichstadt goods yard. In all weathers, day and night, they couple and uncouple the wagons. The air is full of sound: hammering, steps crunching on the gravel, whistles and shunting noises.

Böttchers film showcases three young workers who learn how to paint, draw, and make sculptures out of stone. The film generated a storm of mistrust, as there is no leading communist party, and the three individuals live blithely and independently of the official dictates. It became one of the first DEFA documentary productions that were not allowed to be shown.

Strawalde (Jürgen Böttcher) and Ralf Winkler (A.R. Penck) meet on the afternoon of September 18, 1991, in a factory loft in Berlin-Wedding to paint a picture together.

This black and white documentary film reports from the Berlin Zoo, located in the Friedrichsfelde district of the Lichtenberg district, was opened in 1955 and is the largest landscape animal garden in Europe with an area of 160 hectares. With shots worth seeing, you can experience the animals in their enclosures and spacious free running areas. The film gets along completely without commentary and directs the concentrated view to hippos, parrots, camels, red deer, bison, llamas, kangaroos, rhinoceroses; lynxes, birds, leopards, tigers, lions, polar bears and crocodiles.

A documentary about the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall which makes no use of vocal commentary but instead focuses on visual elements. From the Potsdamer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate, the camera captures the historic events from all sides and different angles: on the one hand there are news reporters and tourists from all over the world taking pictures, children selling pieces of the wall to passers-by, and people celebrating New Year's Eve, on the other we see abandoned subway stations and officials with blank looks on their faces.

Summertime in Prerow at the Baltic Sea. A cheerful film with the spirit of the sixties.