Dokumente zur Lebensweise. Wohnungsprobleme 1982/83. Dokument II. Gesperrter Wohnraum
Records of everyday life. Housing problems 1982/83. Document II. Condemned buildings
Gerd Barz (Editor)
A question asked in all of the SFD films on the subject of housing is whether and how traditional, provincial lifestyles compared with the modern urban way of life. The newly developed district of Berlin-Marzahn is repeatedly presented by the SFD as an antithesis to the liveable city, for example in two long film documentations entitled Wohnungsprobleme 1982/83 (Housing Problems 1982/83) by Gerd Barz. While the two films were considered exemplary SFD productions, a feature film on the same subject – Swan Island (1983, directed by Herrmann Zschoche) – met with an exceptionally fierce response.
Gerd Barz (Editor)
Gerd Barz, long-standing SFD editor (1970-1984), worked for the group during its foundation and development phase. He had no formal film training but had worked previously as an historian and editor of biographies. He produced predominantly personal portraits, focusing in particular on the Spanish Civil War, World War Two and the post-war era.