Movie: The Dove on the Roof

Dove on the roof
Director: Iris Gossner
1973, 82 min, English subtitles

On a construction site in the south of the GDR, where hundreds of apartments are being built in modern prefabricated buildings, the young, self-confident construction manager Linda Heinrich (Heidemarie Wenzel) meets two men: the unconformist student Daniel (Andreas Griebe), who works as a builder during his vacation, and the construction brigadier Hans Boy, who has built new houses in many places in the GDR but has lost his home. Linda loves her work and her independence, but she is in danger of losing her personal happiness.


When Iris Gossner, one of the few female directors in the GDR, presented the first draft of her directorial debut, she was accused of presenting a distorted picture of the GDR reality. In particular, the portrayal of the experienced worker as a tragic figure met with strong resistance. The director was accused of “spitting in the face of the working class.”

The film was banned and the film version was lost. It was only in 2010 that the film, originally shot in color, was released in cinemas as a reconstructed black-and-white version. Critics praised the film as an example of the new ambiguity in the GDR. The film raises questions about the meaning of work, love, and happiness in East Germany in the 1970s. Iris Gossner repeatedly addressed the role of women in her films and questioned the official and real image of gender in GDR society.

background:
Daily life in the German Democratic Republic
According to its self-definition, the GDR was “the first workers' and agricultural state on German soil”. The “worker” played a central role in the ideological representation of socialism in the communist countries of the time. The representation of the world of work was very important in the state-controlled and supported artistic production in East Germany. Consequently, films that reflected the reality of the GDR and depicted everyday life and the world of work were subject to close control by officials.

It was not easy to paint a true picture of reality, but filmmakers still wanted to depict life in the GDR, not as a criticism but as a means of pointing out the weaknesses of the socialist dream and suggesting improvements. However, these films were often censored or even banned.

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