Co-Presented with the Goethe Institut
The 1st in our 5-part series of films influenced by Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

Kuhle Wampe (Slatan Dudow, 1932)
Brecht’s rejection of illusionism and his techniques of distanciation (Verfremdungseffekt) and reflexivity to reveal the hidden ideological codes of realist art and political power have had an enormous impact on cinema. Tonight we honor Brecht’s contributions with a screening of Kuhle Wampe (1932), the only feature film in which he played a major directorial role. Written by Brecht, who worked on all aspects of its production, Kuhle Wampe uses both fictionalized and documentary footage to explore unemployment, abortion and the situation of women in Germany in the early 30s through the life of a family forced to live in a tent city of the unemployed.