Culver City,
California
x
Konfirmation Rainer Heiligendamm 1964
Maker: Hoffman Family
Date Made: 1964
Country: German Democratic Republic
Materials: 8mm; silent; b&w and color
Duration: 11:45
Collection/Series: Hoffman Home Movie Collection
Accession Number: 2009.032.013
Home movie filmed in Heiligendamm, East Germany. People dressed for a special occasion, presumably the confirmation of a boy named Rainer, sit around a candlelit table set for a meal. A man in striped pajamas lies in bed in what appears to be a hotel room; he writes while leaning on the bedside table. Another man standing in shirtsleeves eats pudding or yoghurt out of a small bowl. Views of the Baltic Sea framed by trees and walkway; beachfront with views of jetty or breakwater. [switches to color at 3:34] Large house with exterior lettering that reads “Haus Weimar” (Weimar House). Close-up of a statue of a putto with what appears to be a serpent; wide shot shows its position in an exterior niche of a small roofed structure or building. More views of Haus Weimar and adjacent buildings; leafless forest behind. Seagulls fly over empty beach; two men in overcoats walk along beachfront promenade backed by large houses. Two men walk bicycles across cobblestoned street. [switches to b&w at 7:20] View of stone monument. Buildings and town streets with occasional pedestrians; a no parking sign is visible. Detail of building exterior with lettering that reads “FDGB Erholungsheim Kurhaus” (FDGB Rest Home and Resort). [FDGB refers to the Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund or Free German Federation of Trade Unions.] Exterior view of pharmacy (“Apotheke”). Men feed seagulls by the seashore.