People on Sunday 2010
A German-American Summer School
1 Theme
2 Backstory
3 Project
1 Theme
People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag, Germany 1930) was one of the most innovative films of the late Weimar Republic, created by five young and then unknown German-American filmmakers. Only three years, however, after Billy Wilder, Robert and Curt Siodmak, Fred Zinnemann and Edgar Ulmer finished this movie that made their name, they all had to flee Berlin and soon became famous again in Hollywood.
People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag, Germany 1930) was one of the most innovative films of the late Weimar Republic, created by five young and then unknown German-American filmmakers. Only three years, however, after Billy Wilder, Robert and Curt Siodmak, Fred Zinnemann and Edgar Ulmer finished this movie that made their name, they all had to flee Berlin and soon became famous again in Hollywood.
Our joint Summer Workshop People on Sunday – or rather People on Sunday 2010 – will take its cue from this masterpiece by five German-American filmmakers and will be centered around practical work: the making of short documentary or semi-documentary portrayals of everyday life in a contemporary city: Cologne.
2 Backstory
Academic Backstory
America welcomed German filmmakers fleeing the Nazi terror, and in return German filmmakers transformed Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. Directors like Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Robert Siodmak, Frank Zinnemann and actors like Marlene Dietrich, Conrad Veidt, Paul Henreid are responsible for some of the most memorable motion pictures of these years. Their influence can still be felt today.
One of the most innovative films of the late Weimar Republic, created by five influential German-American filmmakers: Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday (1930). Only three years after Billy Wilder, Robert and Curt Siodmak, Fred Zinnemann and Edgar Ulmer finished this movie that made their name, they all had to flee Berlin and soon became famous again in Hollywood.
For these biographical as well as for aesthetic reasons People on Sunday was, as several critics have stated, pivotal not only in the development of German cinema but also of Hollywood. However, this movie was not a feature film like the ones its makers later shot in the US, it was a (semi-) documentary that for the very first time portrayed everyday life in a modern metropolis.
Our joint Summer Workshop People on Sunday – or rather People on Sunday 2010 – will take its cue from this masterpiece by five German-American filmmakers and will be centered around practical work: the making of short documentary or semi-documentary portrayals of everyday life in a contemporary big city – Cologne; filmed by German-American teams and from an intercultural perspective.
Organizational Backstory
Sponsored by the state chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, the project was developed by Prof. Gundolf S. Freyermuth of the ifs. He proposed the project to Prof. Barbara Boyle of the UCLA Film School in August 2009.
The German-American cooperation was then signed in Los Angeles – in the presence of Andreas Krautscheid [Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia] and Prof. Teri Schwartz [Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television] – by Simone Stewens [Chief Executive Director of the ifs] and Prof. Barbara Boyle [Chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media] in October of 2009.
Academic Backstory
America welcomed German filmmakers fleeing the Nazi terror, and in return German filmmakers transformed Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. Directors like Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Robert Siodmak, Frank Zinnemann and actors like Marlene Dietrich, Conrad Veidt, Paul Henreid are responsible for some of the most memorable motion pictures of these years. Their influence can still be felt today.
One of the most innovative films of the late Weimar Republic, created by five influential German-American filmmakers: Menschen am Sonntag / People on Sunday (1930). Only three years after Billy Wilder, Robert and Curt Siodmak, Fred Zinnemann and Edgar Ulmer finished this movie that made their name, they all had to flee Berlin and soon became famous again in Hollywood.
For these biographical as well as for aesthetic reasons People on Sunday was, as several critics have stated, pivotal not only in the development of German cinema but also of Hollywood. However, this movie was not a feature film like the ones its makers later shot in the US, it was a (semi-) documentary that for the very first time portrayed everyday life in a modern metropolis.
Our joint Summer Workshop People on Sunday – or rather People on Sunday 2010 – will take its cue from this masterpiece by five German-American filmmakers and will be centered around practical work: the making of short documentary or semi-documentary portrayals of everyday life in a contemporary big city – Cologne; filmed by German-American teams and from an intercultural perspective.
Organizational Backstory
Sponsored by the state chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, the project was developed by Prof. Gundolf S. Freyermuth of the ifs. He proposed the project to Prof. Barbara Boyle of the UCLA Film School in August 2009.
The German-American cooperation was then signed in Los Angeles – in the presence of Andreas Krautscheid [Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia] and Prof. Teri Schwartz [Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television] – by Simone Stewens [Chief Executive Director of the ifs] and Prof. Barbara Boyle [Chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media] in October of 2009.
3 Project
The Summer School started on June 21 with five days of academic instruction. In seminars, lectures and workshops, taught by Prof. Chris Horak, PhD (UCLA), Prof. Lisa Gotto, PhD (ifs) and Prof. Freyermuth, PhD (ifs), the participants analyzed the 1930 movie People on Sunday, learned about its history, its influence on German and American film making and about the life and works of its makers.
During this first week, the participating young film makers also formed mixed German-American teams and started to develop ideas for documentary or semi-documentary shorts which they produced in the following five weeks.
The result People on Sunday 2010, a German-American short film compilation by young filmmakers from UCLA and ifs, will premiere on November 6, 2011, in Los Angeles.
Website
The website www.peopleonsunday2010.com will provide continuing information about the Summer School.
The Summer School started on June 21 with five days of academic instruction. In seminars, lectures and workshops, taught by Prof. Chris Horak, PhD (UCLA), Prof. Lisa Gotto, PhD (ifs) and Prof. Freyermuth, PhD (ifs), the participants analyzed the 1930 movie People on Sunday, learned about its history, its influence on German and American film making and about the life and works of its makers.
During this first week, the participating young film makers also formed mixed German-American teams and started to develop ideas for documentary or semi-documentary shorts which they produced in the following five weeks.
The result People on Sunday 2010, a German-American short film compilation by young filmmakers from UCLA and ifs, will premiere on November 6, 2011, in Los Angeles.
Website
The website www.peopleonsunday2010.com will provide continuing information about the Summer School.