17 September 2018

Peter Voigt Archive at the Akademie der Künste

Archive Opening on 25 September 2018, Pariser Platz

The Akademie der Künste has taken over the estate of Peter Voigt (1933–2015); with a special event on 25 September the Akademie is paying tribute to the documentary filmmaker and offering insights into his archive.

Beginning in 1953, Peter Voigt became the youngest directorial and dramaturgy assistant of Bertolt Brecht at the Berliner Ensemble; following Brecht's death in 1956, he was the personal assistant of Peter Palitzsch. Later Voigt worked as a documentary film director for DEFA, for television in the German Democratic Republic and for the Studio Heynowski & Scheumann. As a filmmaker Voigt was an exception in the GDR. Influenced by his work in theatre and by directing animated films, he developed his own cinematic language, in which the use of photo documents and montage techniques played a special role. Voigt's films resist conventional dramaturgies and are similar to documentary essays in their narrative style.

The majority of the now accessible archival collection is comprised of films and film projects, drawings, photos and collage works. It also contains correspondence with Helene Weigel, Paul Dessau, Peter Palitzsch, Werner Hecht, Günther Rücker, Manfred Krug, Friedrich Dieckmann and Kurt Böwe, among others. The archive will be presented at the Akademie on 25 September. Film scholar Günter Agde introduces Voigt's oeuvre and discusses the book he has edited, Filmarbeit Peter Voigt (Verlag Neues Leben). Anett Schubotz, who oversees the archival collections at the Akademie, provides insights into the material and its integration into the archives. Director Alexandra Czok and the head of the Bertolt Brecht Archive, Erdmut Wizisla, introduce an unfinished film work by Peter Voigt: Brechts Wände. In addition, Voigt's short film Datum (2003) will be shown. Werner Heegewaldt, the director of the archives, makes the opening remarks.

Further information: www.adk.de The Zeughauskino is screening a Peter Voigt retrospective, curated by Günter Agde from 26–29 September 2018. More details: www.zeughauskino.de

Special Event Information
Peter Voigt Archive Opening
Tuesday, 25 September 2019, 8 pm, Admission € 6/4
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
Ticket reservations: Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-1000, ticket@adk.de
Press tickets: Tel. +49 (0)30 20057-1514, presse@adk.de