Heiner Carow was born on September 19, 1929 in Rostock. In 1957, he directed his first feature film, about kids in Berlin, Sheriff Teddy. His 1968 film, Die Russen kommen, was banned for being “contaminated with modernism” and first released in 1987. In 1972, however, Die Legende von Paul und Paula became an unparalleled success; it is said to have been the longest-playing film ever in East German cinemas.

Carow’s penchant for creating films that candidly reflected everyday life in socialism often put him in the crosshairs of the authorities. Two of his projects that were never realized were Simplicius Simplicissimus, in a new adaptation by Franz Fühmann, and Paule Panke, a rock-n-roll spectacle. In 1978, the heated debate among functionaries about whether to release Bis daß der Tod euch scheidet, a frank portrayal of a troubled marriage, stirred up so much public curiosity that it was finally released, to high acclaim from audiences and critics.

Carow’s films won many prizes, including the Silver Bear at the 1990 Berlin Film Festival for Coming Out, which premiered on the evening the Berlin Wall fell – and is the only East German feature film about homosexuality. Heiner Carow died in 1997.

Selected Filmography

1993 Vater Mutter Mörderkind (Father Mother Murderchild, TV)

1991 Verfehlung (The Mistake)

1989 Coming Out

1986 So viele Träume (transl. So Many Dreams)

1978 Bis daß der Tod euch scheidet (Until Death Do Us Part)

1975 Ikarus

1972 Die Legende von Paul und Paula (The Legend of Paul und Paula)

1968 Die Russen kommen (The Russians Are Coming)

1966 Die Reise nach Sundevit (transl. The Trip to Sundevit)

1958 Sie nannten ihn Amigo (They Called Him Amigo)

1957 Sheriff Teddy