Historic Northampton

Programs & Events

Fast Forward Film Series

Against the Mainstream:
The Animations of Lutz Dammbeck
The Animations of Lutz Dammbeck
Films from the Former East Germany
Sunday, May 11, 2014 3-4 pm
Barton Byg, Professor of Film and German Studies at the University of Massachusetts and founder of the DEFA Film Library, will discuss the films and answer questions.

Program

The Moon (Der Mond)
GDR, 1975, 6', color, no dialogue
The moon happily swirls around, watching the animals enjoy themselves and dance in his light. Then all of a sudden, the moon falls out of the sky and the greedy dragon drags him into his cave. When the nights stay dark, the animals come up with a plan...
Official Selection of the 1977 International Animation Festival in France.

T
he Flood (Die Flut)
GDR, 1986, 10 minutes, color, no dialogue

Two men sit on an island watching the sunset. When a storm gathers, they decide to build a boat. While one man is mindful of the coming danger and urges speed, the other wastes his time on decorative details. Based on a Chinese fable, with music composed and played by internationally-known jazz percussionist Günter “Baby” Sommer.

The Tailor of Ulm (Der Schneider von Ulm)
GDR, 1979, 14’, color, English subtitles

The little town of Ulm is governed and oppressed by the bishop. Nobody tries to speak up except the tailor, who believes the impossible is possible. Based on a poem by Bertolt Brecht, this is one of the first expressions of Dammbeck ’s experimental, grotesque, surrealistic style of animation.
Competed at the 1980 Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Germany.

Live! (Lebe!)
GDR, 1978, 10’, color, no dialogue

The story of a man’s life, from birth to death. He rushes through the days that are shaped by the loss of his ideals and focus on wealth. Finally he must realize that he forgot to simply live.

This screening is supported by the DEFA Foundation in Berlin
Germany and the DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst
with grant funding from the Northampton Arts Council.

Please note seating is limited to 30 chairs
About Lutz Dammbeck

Painter, filmmaker, author and media artist Lutz Dammbeck was born in Leipzig in 1948. In his pictures, films, collages and installations, the painter and filmmaker brought together elements of film and fine art. He was one of the key representatives of independent film and media art in the former GDR and a fascinating phenomenon within modern contemporary art.

Dammbeck was among the first generation born in communist East Germany. After graduating from a graphic design college, he eventually found employment at the state-run DEFA film studio. At DEFA, Dammbeck completed a half-dozen animated shorts beginning with the ideologically-correct children's story Der Mond (The Moon) in 1975, and ending with his surreal Die Flut (The Flood) in 1986.

“If film buffs in North America know of Lutz Dammbeck at all it is probably for his 2003 documentary The Net: The Unabomber, LSD, and the Internet (Das Netz), a flawed but engaging exploration of Ted Kaczynski's seventeen-year letter-bomb campaign against scientists and industrialists.”
- Chris Neilson, DVD Talk, January 28, 2009

With sponsorship from the Northampton Arts Council
Northampton Arts Council
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Northampton Arts Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Massachusetts Cultural Council