A documentary that recounts the Cold War struggles of Mario Röllig, UNC Charlotte’s “College of Liberal Arts & Sciences eyewitness-in-residence,” will premiere during the 66th annual Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February. The documentary includes scenes filmed during a visit Röllig made to UNC Charlotte in 2014.
A gay former citizen of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Röllig was arrested in Hungary in 1987 for attempting to flee the republic. The film “Der Ost-Komplex” (The GDR Complex) recounts Röllig’s experiences of incarceration, interrogation and torture in Hohenschönhausen Prison.
Röllig and “Der Ost-Komplex” director Jochen Hick will share insights and excerpts from the film with audiences at a public event on Thursday, Feb. 25. Röllig also will speak on Monday, April 18.
According to the Berlin film festival organizers, “In confrontations with sympathizers of the former GDR, who accuse Röllig of being biased and distorting history, it becomes quite apparent that the struggle for who has the say in interpreting the history of the GDR is highly subjective, taboo-ridden and loaded with trauma.”
Also known as Berlinale, the festival is one of the world’s most prestigious, along with those in Venice and Cannes. Films shown in Berlin often are having their world or European premieres. Berlinale comprises about 400 films of varied genre, length and format. The festival is divided into nine sections and a number of special presentations.
This film about Röllig is part of the “Panorama” section and aligns with its mission of building bridges. Auteur films, or movies with an individual signature, make up the heart of the offerings in this section.
UNC Charlotte’s Anabel Aliaga-Buchenau, associate professor of German, will join Röllig and Hick in Berlin to lead discussions following the premiere and subsequent screenings of the film.
Röllig will be at UNC Charlotte all semester in partnership with the Department of Languages and Culture Studies, with financial support from a private donor.
Hick, who is visiting Charlotte in late February, is a director and producer of mainly independent feature films and documentaries. He founded the production company Galeria Alaska Productions. He previously has been invited to show 10 of his films in the Berlinale program during the past 25 years.
At the Feb. 25 event, Röllig, Hick and Aliaga-Buchenau will show excerpts of the film and additional footage from Röllig’s 2014 visit to the University and Charlotte. They also will conduct a question-and-answer session about the film. This event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Rowe Arts Building, Room 130.
At the April 18 event, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City, Röllig will deliver a keynote lecture that Aliaga-Buchenau will interpret.
During his visit this semester, Röllig will speak to UNC Charlotte classes and area high schools. In addition, he will participate in the spring break trip to the former city of East Berlin "The Ghosts of Berlin: In the Footsteps of a Former Stasi Prisoner."
“Der Ost-Komplex” also includes footage of a November 2014 visit Röllig made to UNC Charlotte for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The German Language and Culture Foundation hosted that event in partnership with UNC Charlotte College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Languages and Culture Studies Department.