bauhaus & film (1)

The notion that there are no "Bauhaus films" is widespread, and there are hardly any studies on the topic of film in the quite comprehensive field of Bauhaus research. It is strange, however, that this medium supposedly attracted so little interest in the Bauhaus movement, even though it played such a big role in its aims and objectives, especially in the case of László Moholy-Nagy. It is true that Moholy-Nagy attempted in vain to establish the "Versuchsstelle für Filmkunst (Experimental Station for Cinema)" at the Bauhaus which was promised to him. But at the end of the 1920s, there were virtually no such training schools in the world, with the exception of revolutionary Russia. In addition, film productions were very cost-intensive. Entirely other organizations collapsed under the pressure of inflation and the introduction of sound film at the end of the 1920s. Moreover, there were hardly any non-commercial screening venues (film clubs, arthouse cinemas) in Germany at the time. And finally, the school was soon closed down by the National Socialists. Hence, one cannot expect to find a film culture shaped by the Bauhaus. Nevertheless, there were a considerable number of films made by Bauhaus teachers and students documented in this retrospective.