Everyday Life on 8mm Film

Historian Sebastian Thalheim has been conducting academic research on family and private films for many years and, for his dissertation, examined more than 27 hours of Standard 8 and Super 8 footage from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Using selected film clips, the lecture demonstrates how families captured their lives on film and the significance these recordings hold today for the culture of remembrance and the history of everyday life. At the same time, Thalheim contextualizes the popular practice of private filmmaking within its technical, cultural, and social conditions in the GDR.

• Lecture and discussion: Dr. Sebastian Thalheim, historian and teacher, Berlin
• Moderator: Dr. Liza Soutschek, Research Associate, DDR Museum

IN GERMAN