Karl Fruchtmann - a Jewish storyteller. Presentation of a film edition
Portrait of a forgotten filmmaker, 9 March, 7 pm, at TIETZ
On Monday, 9 March, from 7 to 8.30 pm, the adult education centre invites you to a lecture on Karl Fruchtmann in the TIETZ event hall. The lecture casts a special spotlight on the Jewish film-maker. An evening of dialogue will remember the unconventional director who, from the 1960s onwards, made the horrors of the Shoah tangible to his audience. Dr Torsten Musial, Head of the Archive for Film and Media Art at the Academy of Arts, will provide insights into an edition of his films, which is due to be published in 2020. The event aims to recall the person and work of Karl Fruchtmann. Participation is free of charge.
Karl Fruchtmann created a convincing and strong cinematic oeuvre. Despite this, he has been forgotten as a director. Born in Meuselwitz in 1915, he was persecuted as a Jew and imprisoned in the Sachsenburg and Dachau concentration camps. He emigrated to Palestine in 1937 and later made a career as a manager at Israel's largest airline, El Al. In 1958, he decided to return to West Germany and began his career as a director with a traineeship at WDR. His work, especially for his later home broadcaster Radio Bremen, translated literary material, his own stories and experiences as well as his confrontation with the Shoah into images and sound. His work is characterised by profound and well thought-out film shots and narrative compositions. One of his most impressive works is the film "Kaddish after a Living Man", in which Karl Fruchtmann processed his own biographical experiences.
This event is taking place as part of the Days of Jewish Culture 2020. It is a co-operation between the Initiative Klick and the VHS, with the support of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung.