DEFA-Studio für Trickfilme
The Little Witch 1983
The little witch is not interested in the basics of magic. She does not want to study at all! But everything changes when she meets the handsome Prince and falls in love with him. She helps the Prince with her magical powers, protecting him from dangerous obstacles and marriage to a woman he does not love.
The Black Fortress 1988
When Martin returns from war, he finds that nothing is the way it once was. He watches a few remaining villagers leave offerings in the town square for a giant monster, and he sees that whoever has nothing left for the monster is turned into stone. To make matters worse, Martin finds out that his fiancee, Maria, is being held captive in the monster's Black Fortress.
A Young Man Named Engels – A Portrait in Letters 1970
With the young Friedrich Engel’s letters and drawings from the years between 1838 and 1842, a unique cinematic portrait is created. The viewer thus gets to know the young Engels personally, learning about the significant moments of his development from a bourgeois-liberal upbringing to the theoretical partner of Karl Marx. Later be awarded the Gold Dove at the International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week.
Der rechte Barbier 1960
Einmart 1981
The very first images in the film set unprecedented standards in East German animated film: a Buñuelean eye that fills the entire screen, real-life sequences of fleeing animals and a sound collage running contrary to what is seen on the screen. This also extends to the protagonist of the film, a head on a foot without a body or arms who pads wearily through the depressing surroundings. Upon seeing various figures in the sky, he begins to copy their movements. To his surprise, he himself manages to grow wings and takes to the skies. But his attempt at flight ends in a sobering manner however, as it is revealed that flying creatures are just restricted in their range.
Die Geschichte vom Kalif Storch 1984
Caliph Harun al-Rashid was turned into a stork by a power-greedy rival. Only with the help of his wise vizier and a beautiful princess is he able to escape the spell. Based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.
Jorinde und Joringel 1958
The Full Circle 1989
The factories pollute the air so much that every living creature in town must wear a gas mask if they want to survive.
Metamorphoses I 1978
For the multimedia exhibition Tangenten I (Tangents I), Dammbeck and co-organizer, sculptor and painter Frieder Heinze had planned to collaborate on a film that would combine non-camera animation with 35mm footage of a train ride between the two Dresden districts of Radebeul and Pieschen. When the exhibition was banned in 1978, Heinze turned to other projects, but Dammbeck continued working on the film by himself. Metamorphoses I—the first experimental film ever to be shown publicly in East Germany—marks the filmic beginning of Dammbeck’s long-term art project the Herakles-Konzept (Hercules Concept).
Chile Lives 1976
This short, animated piece of agitprop fiercely expresses the hopes of the Chilean people.
Rübezahl und der Schuster 1976
Animated fairy tale about the mountain ghost Rübezahl and his dealing with a thieving shoemaker.
Dwarf Nose 1986
For his mockery a witch transforms the pert boy Jacob into an ugly dwarf, but teaches him at the same time how to cook. Jacob quickly becomes a master of his trade and is named the prince's first cook. Only the mysterious herb "sneeze-with-passion" is unknown to him. Based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.
Seven Rights of a Viewer 1980
An enumeration of various ways by which the public might react to a film projection.
Variants 1980
Two neighbours argue about which one of them should get rid of a pile of rubbish.