Film Club: Barbara (dir. Christian Petzold, 2012)

Barbara (2012), a feature film by German film-maker Christian Petzold, is set in East Germany in the early 1980s. Praised as an “an elegant drama based on human and political dilemmas” (The Guardian), the film tells the story of a talented doctor who runs afoul of the authorities when she applies for an exit visa to emigrate to the West. Stripped of her position at the prominent Charité hospital in East Berlin, she gets transferred to a small provincial clinic near the Baltic Sea but remains under constant surveillance by the Stasi …

Barbara will be introduced by Katharina Forster. View the film here (link to BoB), at your convenience. If you’d like to join us for a lively and very informal discussion of this film at 4pm on Tue 21 July, on Microsoft Teams, please join the Film Club here.

We will add some points and questions on the Team for you to think about while viewing the film, and as talking points for the discussion, so do have a look at them in advance.  After that, Film Club will continue for one more week, with one more film on Tue 28 July, to be announced soon. After that we’ll take a summer break. All SELCS/CMII students and staff are welcome to drop in, either regularly or occasionally.

Finally, we are looking for a new staff / student team to take Film Club forward in September. If you are interested or have any questions please get in touch.

Best wishes and happy viewing

Mererid and Christine