Among Men: Gay in East Germany ( Unter Männern - Schwul in der DDR )

Among Men: Gay in East Germany (DVD) (*)

~~$31.99~~ $28.98

Original Title: Unter Männern - Schwul in der DDR
Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
90 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2012 and produced in:
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Ringo Rösener
Markus Stein

Written By:
Ringo Rösener

Actors:
Jürgen Wittdorf ..... Self
Christian Schulz ..... Self
Helwin Leuschner ..... Self
Eduard Stapel ..... Self
Frank Schäfer ..... Self
John Zinner ..... Self
Jürgen Lemke ..... Self
Matthias Freihof ..... Philipp Klarmann
Dirk Kummer ..... Matthias
Sigurd Rachman ..... Felix
Ringo Rösener ..... Self
Rainer Strecker ..... Thomas

Synopsis:

This documentary feature addresses the question of how gay men lived and could live their lives under 'real socialism', where GDR ideology considered homosexuality to be a remnant of bourgeois decadent morality and harmful to a socialist society. In that film we meet six men who talk openly about their social and intimate experiences, some for the first time, and get to know several individuals who could hardly be more diverse, or more contradictory. At one end of the scale is Frank Schäfer, a barber and a shrewd and resourceful individualist; at the other, Eduard Stapel, an academic theologist who founded a GDR-wide network of homosexual associations and upon whom the Stasi firmly set its sights. Even though homosexuality had not been punished since the 1950s, the conspiracy of silence, the condemnation, the pressure to conform to society and to sexual discretion remained. This story introduces us to a number of strong and - for all their pain - spirited men who were obliged to come to terms with their homosexuality alone, each with their own very different strategies for survival and adjustment.

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 13 August, 2023.