OYOYO (1980) by Chetna Vora is one of the most requested films in the archive of the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg. And yet, because of its current state, there are restrictions to its availability. The archive holds a reversal original and a reversal print 1In reversal processing, by contrast with negative processing, a positive image is developed in the layers of the film. It was possible to make copies from the reversal originals using a direct copying process without producing a duplicate negative. which cannot be made available for screening in cinemas because of its age, and because remains the only copy in good condition. It also holds separate magnetic sound track strips that have been affected by vinegar syndrome, which causes film to deteriorate. Finally, there is also a digital workprint of the reversal original that has occasionally been used in cinemas.
The reversal original and reversal print represent two versions of the film. Whereas the reversal original is 47 minutes long, the reversal print runs 65 minutes. A second print that corresponds to this latter version but in a much worse state was recently given to the university by the film’s cameraman Lars-Peter Barthel. He studied at the same time as Chetna Vora at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen der DDR. The two became partners in work and life, with Vora working on many films, either as a director or as an actor, where Barthel was the cameraman. According to Barthel, the long version matches Vora’s intentions for her main exam film, as it examines the feelings and situation of international students in the GDR.
With funds from the Filmerbe film heritage programme, financed by the German Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the German federal states and the German Federal Film Board, the film school plans in 2023 to digitise and restore both versions of the film, thus making them available in digital form. The long version will become accessible for the first time. The availability of both versions will allow for a closer analysis of the production of OYOYO and thus offer insight into a part of the film school’s history.
Logos that are visible on the shortened reversal original as well as on the completed prints indicate that there was a collaboration with East German state television, which became an important partner of the film school from the late ‘60s onwards. Many films were made in view of the television’s broadcasting format and were shown as short reportages. The shortening of the film by 18 minutes might have been due to the necessary broadcasting runtime. On the other hand, in the German Rundfunkarchiv there is no evidence that there was a cooperation with East German state television or that the film was broadcast.
The cuts to the reversal original were made in several places after the two reversal prints had been made. The material that was removed has disappeared. So, the camera originals of 18 minutes from the original concept of the film have been lost, and are only preserved in the reversal prints. This presents the following conflict for the restoration: A complete version in digital form can only be made by either retaining defects across the entire film by digitising one of the complete prints, with its corresponding generation loss, and wear and tear or retaining the noticeable discrepancies between the original and the print, by completing the reversal original with material from the reversal prints.
The work of Chetna Vora and her partner and cameraman Lars-Peter Barthel testifies to the students‘ departures from form and subject, and their conflicts with the authorities at the film school and the television station.
The film will be shown at the Berlinale Forum as a workshop screening of the above-mentioned digital workprint, which corresponds to the short version. This digital workprint copy is the result of an initial test. The original material was not cleaned in a time-consuming process, and there was no scan using the wet gate method to remove scratches. There was also no work done on image and sound. This will now be made possible thanks to the German Federal Film Board. But because the digital workprint is already very impressive, we decided—in accordance with the requests of the curators and Chetna Vora’s family—to show this version of the film.
The work of Chetna Vora and her partner and cameraman Lars-Peter Barthel is central to the late ‘70s and early ‘80s history of the film school. It testifies to the students’ departures in form and subject, as well as their conflicts with the authorities at the film school and the television station. Along with the screening is a hope to whet curiosity about the films, which—financed by the film heritage programme—will be restored successively in the coming years. Apart from OYOYO, there will also be work done on the films ELEONORA (1976, Director: Lars-Peter-Barthel) and ORANGENMOND (1979/80, Director: Gabriele Dennecke), in which Vora acted. The digital restoration of her diploma film FRAUEN IN BERLIN (1982/83), which she was not able to complete despite her wishes, will be the next challenge.
Anke Wilkening is the project coordinator of the Filmerbe film heritage programme at the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg.
Katja Krause is the head of the university library at the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg.
Translation: Anne Thomas
