Wochenschau I: Requiem für eine Firma

REQUIEM FÜR EINE FIRMA is the outcome from a newsreel group initiated by Klaus Wildenhahn at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). The film traces the events that led to the dismissal of 18 students some months earlier. It is a unique record not only of the contentious and politically charged disputes at one of Germany’s first film schools and in 1960s Berlin, but also of the collaboration between the DFFB, Arsenal, and the Deutsche Kinemathek, which continues to this day. A number of the protagonists shown in this film would later bring those three institutions together under one roof at the Sony Center, an arrangement that has lasted 25 years. Over the past year, the Deutsche Kinemathek has been inviting partners to select and present films from the archives. For this final Filmspotting installment to be held at Potsdamer Platz, Arsenal was given carte blanche and has chosen to take a look back. (Anke Hahn)