Keep moving - a Film featuring dancer biographies in former East Germany

[Sabine0308]

Dear Forum members, as some of you already know, I was born and raised in East Germany. In 2021, a film presented at the Berlin Film Festival brought back bittersweet memories of dancers I had admired in the Eighties, as members of the Tanztheater Komische Oper Berlin. 

I am sooo grateful for this film, it's close to my heart and an important document because almost no footage is left of all the pieces I loved to watch, including the famous "Keith" on Keith Jarrett's Koeln Concert.

Here's what the Director Salar Ghazi said, who produced this film almost completely on his own:

 

"KEEP MOVING, made over a period of 12 years and filmed on two continents,

premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.

This documentary feature tells the biographies of dancers in the communist GDR.

They came from modest backgrounds, as their training was paid for by the state.

Since they belonged to the international elite, they got to know the West

through guest performances - a privilege the Berlin Wall denied their compatriots.

Those who tried to defect risked prison and even death.

Under constant surveillance by the state security, many had to make a life decision:

Stay in the GDR or flee, with the prospect of never seeing family and friends again.

The stories told and private VHS footage create a vivid picture

that brings to life the zeitgeist before the fall of the Berlin Wall."

 

I highly recommend to watch this film, and would love to read your thoughts about it. It's available for small money (3,99 Euros) here:

 

https://fishermansframe.gumroad.com/l/abtyf

 

German with subtitles in English, 中文简体, Español, Français, Ελληνική, Polski.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Sabine0308