DEFA is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Since 1946, the East German state film studio has been a place where propaganda was produced and control and censorship were the order of the day—yet at the same time, it was home to great artists who repeatedly fought to carve out creative freedom. We’re celebrating the legacy of these directors where it belongs: at the newly renovated Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee, the former DEFA premiere theater—now featuring Christie laser projection, 4K, and Dolby 7.1. 

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Over eight Sundays, we’ll be screening outstanding works that have lost none of their power to this day—in the original German version with English subtitles.

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Eleven girls from Leipzig and ten boys from Karl-Marx-Stadt hitchhike to the Baltic Sea—and get in each other’s way along the way. What follows is lighthearted, loud, and carefree: a summer movie that never pretends to be anything more than it is. Starring Chris Doerk and Frank Schöbel, the dream couple of GDR pop music. Panned by critics back then. Loved by audiences—to this day.