Virtual Friday Night Films at the Wende: Coming Out

Hailed as the first and only feature film about gay life ever produced in communist East Germany, Coming Out is the story of a young teacher named Philipp Klarmann and his journey to sexual awareness.

Directed by Heiner Carow, the film premiered the night the Berlin Wall opened on November 9, 1989. Filmed in part on location at gay hangouts in East Berlin, including the Friedrichshain Volkspark and the bars Schoppenstube und Zum Burgfrieden in Prenzlauer Berg, Coming Out was one of the last films made by DEFA, the East German State Film Studio, and it was the only queer-centered feature film that it produced.

The film is free to watch on Kanopy with a library card.

—

Virtual Film Picks are inspired by the in-person Friday Night Films at the Wende program series. This selection is part of a curated list of weekly movie suggestions that can be watched at home, in conjunction with #WendeOnline.