Helmut Dziuba was born in Dresden in 1933. He studied directing under Sergei Gerassimov and Michail Romm at the Moscow Film Academy (VGIK) from 1953 to 1962, along with Aleksandr Mitta and Andrei Tarkovsky. After he returned to East Germany, he joined the DEFA Studio for Feature Films and became Frank Beyer’s assistant director (Karbid und Sauerampfer, 1963). Dziuba’s directing debut was the children’s film Mohr und die Raben von London (1968). He continued to work on children’s and youth films. His “proletarian trilogy” – Rotschlipse (1970), Als Unku Edes Freundin war (1980) and Jan auf der Zille (1985) – dealt with personal experiences and the responsibility of young people during the Weimar and Nazi periods. While such historic commentary was allowed, his later films on contemporary life – Sabine Kleist, 7 Jahre (1982), Erscheinen Pflicht (1983) and Verbotene Liebe (1989) – were not welcomed by East German officials. Dziuba lives in Berlin-Friedrichshagen.

Selected Filmography

1994 Jana und Jan (Jan and Jana)

1989 Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)

1985 Jan auf der Zille (Jan on the Barge)

1983 Erscheinen Pflicht (Presence Required)

1982 Sabine Kleist, 7 Jahre (Sabine Kleist, 7 Years Old)

1980 Als Unku Edes Freundin war (When Unku Was Ede’s Friend)

1970 Rotschlipse (Red Ties)

1968 Mohr und die Raben von London (Moor and the Ravens of London)