Feb 3
International Film Forum: Coming Out
Mon, February 3, 2025
• 7:00pm
- 9:00pm (2h) • Weitz Cinema
Coming Out (Heiner Carow, Germany, 1989, 113 minutes)
Coming Out is a groundbreaking film that made history in multiple ways. Winner of prestigious awards, including the Silver Bear and the Teddy at the 1990 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), the film holds the distinction of being the first and only gay-themed feature film produced in the German Democratic Republic. It also broke new ground by depicting an extended same-sex sexual encounter for the first time. In a twist of fate, Coming Out premiered on November 9, 1989—the very night the Berlin Wall fell. While the world-changing political events overshadowed its premiere, the film’s impact - even today - is undeniable. Coming Out is an emotional journey that captures the struggles and resilience of LGBTQ+ individuals in late 1980s East Germany. Using melodrama and innovative storytelling techniques, it offers a poignant, yet hopeful, reflection on the characters’ world. This is a queer story told through a distinctly queer lens, blending critical insight with a vision of transformation.
The film will be virtually introduced and contextualized by Kyle Frackman, a leading scholar in GDR film studies. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Dr. Frackman attended Hamline University in Saint Paul, graduating with a major in German Studies. Currently, Dr. Frackman is Associate and Affiliated Faculty in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, the Centre for European Studies, the Centre for Cinema Studies, and the graduate program in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of British Columbia. In 2022, he wrote the book on the film, Coming Out, with Camden House.
Event Contact: Steve Richardson