Film Forum

Director Leontine Sagan
Artistic Director Carl Froelich
Cast Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck
Screenplay Christa Winsloe, Friedrich Dammann
Cinematography Reimar Kuntze, Franz Weihmayr
1931 | Germany | Approx. 87 min. | German, with English subtitles

(1931) As a new student at an all-girls boarding school, Hertha Thiele falls in love with compassionate teacher Dorothea Wieck, and her feelings are requited. Experiencing her first love, the lonely pupil also discovers the complexities that come with an illicit romance. This artfully composed landmark of lesbian cinema – and an important anti-fascist film – was the first of just three films directed by Leontine Sagan. Although a box office success in Germany and internationally upon its release (Eleanor Roosevelt spoke out in favor of its U.S. release, reversing the censor board’s decision), the film was eventually banned by the Nazi regime and not available to German audiences until the late ‘70s.

Presented with support from the R.G. Rifkind Foundation Endowment for Queer Cinema.

A KINO LORBER RELEASE

Reviews

“Based on a play by Christa Winsloe, performed by an all-woman cast, independently made, and cooperatively financed, this was one of the few genuine women's films of the 30s.”
– Don Druker, Chicago Reader

“Beautiful, tender, and really artistic cinematic work… a film which pleases the eye constantly.”
– Mordaunt Hall, The New York Times