Joachim Niebelschütz

Biographical notes on the American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976). At the height of his fame and skill, Robeson’s career was cut short by Cold War anti-communist hysteria. This documentary includes historic footage of the US civil rights movement; clips of Robeson’s speeches, performances and visits to East Germany (GDR) and the Soviet Union; and interviews with his son, Paul Robeson Jr., and the musicians and activists Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger and Earl Robinson. Co-produced by the GDR’s DEFA Studio for Documentary Film and the West Berlin production company Chronos, with scenes shot in the U.S.

Documentary film about the inhabitants of the village of Gager on the island of Rügen. The net and trap fishermen are a close-knit community and use the three seasons of fall, winter and spring to make ends meet for themselves and their families. In summer, many of them offer holidaymakers their vacation rooms, during which time fishing takes a back seat. With impressive pictures and original sounds, the women and men describe their experiences and compare the difficult times before and the up-and-coming times after the 1950s. The mayoress of the village of Gager and the district of Groß Zickau tells vivid stories about the "battles" within her own family and against the men of the village and the party leadership in order to achieve certain goals for the benefit of all.

The story of the Grünthal peasants' uprising against the commander who oppresses and exploits them.

Some villages are torn down because of open cast mining south of Leipzig. The landscape changes and so do the lives of the people. The four years chronicle - an allegory of the loss of homeland, the destruction of nature in the name of progress and prosperity. Sadness and melancholy remain. Environmental protection, one of the difficult issues in the GDR.