To mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the DEFA: ‘Karbid und Sauerampfer’ (DEFA, 1963), directed by Frank Beyer

At the premiere in 1963, many members of the audience had lived through the immediate post-war period themselves, yet had found little to laugh about. This made DEFA’s first attempt to portray the everyday difficulties following the end of the war from a light-hearted perspective all the more compelling.

Erwin Geschonnek (‘Five Cartridge Casings’, ‘Naked Among Wolves’) plays, for the first time, a comic (working-class) hero with intelligence and wit, a character with whom the audience could identify.

There is also a reunion with well-known actors and actresses in many supporting roles, such as Marita Böhme, Margot Busse, Peter Dommisch, Sabine Thalbach and Agnes Kraus.

About the film: Dresden, reduced to rubble and ashes in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War: Kalle (Erwin Geschonnek) manages to get hold of seven barrels of carbide in Wittenberge, which are needed for welding work during the reconstruction of the old cigarette factory. Kalle then sets off on his adventurous journey home to Dresden – hitchhiking. On his way, he meets the beautiful Karla, has to fend off accusations of looting, outwit an enterprising American soldier and a Red Army soldier, and shake off a widow keen to marry him.