Film Archive
East Side Story (Sozialistische Musicals)
A feature-length documentary about an unknown realm of movie history. As a whole, the Iron Curtain countries were not known for their gaiety or joie de vivre, but between the cracks of stark Socialist realism, there somehow appeared a few films that offered their audiences escape, hope and hit songs - served up with color, elaborate sets, extravagant musical numbers and, sometimes, even Cinemascope and stereo sound. Were socialist musicals merely a way to make propaganda entertaining? Was it possible to portray socialist realism in a genre that was considered "the most flagrant offspring of the capitalistic pleasure industry? Is it possible that in this seemingly no-win situation some good films were actually made?
Dana Ranga was born in Bucharest and has been living in Berlin since 1987. She studied at the Free University in Berlin and graduated with a M.A. on DEFA musicals. In 1991, she was one of the founders and editorial staff of the Berlin local TV channel FAB and worked the following year on the production of Business for Friends and Beruf Neonazi. She has worked on programs for ORB and Deutschlandradio. Her films include: the shorts On the Move (1992) and Einzelgaenger (1994), both made in collaboration with the Dutch dancer and choreographer Gonnie Heggen, the feature-length documentary East Side Story (1997), and Story (2003).
Genre Music
Category Documentary Cinema
Year of Production 1996
Director Dana Ranga
Screenplay Andrew Horn, Dana Ranga
Director of Photography Mark Daniels
Editor Guido Krajewski
Producer Andrew Horn
Production Company Anda Films/Berlin, in co-production with WDR/Cologne
Principal Cast Chris Doerk, Frank Schoebel, Karin Schroeder, Maya Turovskaya
Length 78 min, 2,814 m
Format 35 mm, color, b&w
Original Version German/English/Russian/Rumania
Subtitled Versions English, German
Sound Technology Dolby
Festival Screenings Sundance 1997
With backing from Canal+, Kuratorium junger deutscher Film, MAP-TV
World Sales
Jane Balfour Films Ltd.
Mary Barlow, Meabh O'Donovan
Burghley House
35 Fortess Road
London NW5 1AD/Great Britain
phone +44-171-2 67 53 92
fax +44-171-2 67 42 41
Category Documentary Cinema
Year of Production 1996
Director Dana Ranga
Screenplay Andrew Horn, Dana Ranga
Director of Photography Mark Daniels
Editor Guido Krajewski
Producer Andrew Horn
Production Company Anda Films/Berlin, in co-production with WDR/Cologne
Principal Cast Chris Doerk, Frank Schoebel, Karin Schroeder, Maya Turovskaya
Length 78 min, 2,814 m
Format 35 mm, color, b&w
Original Version German/English/Russian/Rumania
Subtitled Versions English, German
Sound Technology Dolby
Festival Screenings Sundance 1997
With backing from Canal+, Kuratorium junger deutscher Film, MAP-TV
World Sales
Jane Balfour Films Ltd.
Mary Barlow, Meabh O'Donovan
Burghley House
35 Fortess Road
London NW5 1AD/Great Britain
phone +44-171-2 67 53 92
fax +44-171-2 67 42 41