Everyday Life on 8 Millimetres

Private films from the GDR.

Private film recordings offer a rare insight into everyday life in the GDR – into family celebrations, holidays and rituals beyond the official visual world. The historian Sebastian Thalheim has been conducting academic research on family and private films for many years and analysed more than 27 hours of Standard 8 and Super 8 footage from the 1950s to the 1980s for his doctoral dissertation. Using selected film excerpts, the talk shows how families documented their lives on film and what significance these recordings hold today for memory culture and the history of everyday life. At the same time, Thalheim contextualises the popular practice of private filming within its technical, cultural and social conditions in the GDR.

Talk and discussion:
Dr. Sebastian Thalheim, historian and teacher, Berlin

Chair: Dr. Liza Soutschek, research associate at the DDR Museum

In cooperation with OPEN MEMORY BOX.

Admission is free.
 

25 November 2026, 6 pm

Conference Room DDR Museum
Sankt Wolfgang-Str. 2
10178 Berlin

Here you can see the location.

The event will take place in German.