Health and Happiness

Film Archive – Hall

›Helfen können wir uns nur selbst‹, BRD 1974, Regie: Gardi Deppe © Deutsche Kinemathek – Schwarz-weiß-Szenenfoto: Junge frauen sitzen auf einer Bank in der Natur, sie machen Tipp-Bewegungen mit den Händen, als würden sie Schreibmaschine schreiben. Um den Hals haben hängen Schilder auf denen das Wort Arbeitnehmer steht.

What connects these films is the question of what role community plays within a capitalist-patriarchal order, and how change, happiness, or health are even possible. In *We Can Only Help Ourselves* (1974), Gardi Deppe accompanies young women at a West German rehabilitation clinic and stages a role-playing exercise with them in which they express their experiences of exploitation. Through conversations with the doctors, it becomes clear that the treatment is aimed less at healing than at reintegration into the workforce and family life. For *The Five-Leaf Lilac Blossom* (1993), Yingli Ma visits her hometown of Beijing and meets four friends from her school days. Through conversations about their work and personal lives, the film paints a picture of China after the suppression of the 1989 democracy movement and before its economic opening to the West: The young adults speak of mounting pressure to perform, while the lucky flower becomes a symbol of hope and their friendship.

We Can Only Help Ourselves

West Germany 1974, Director: Gardi Deppe, DCP, 48 min, German with English subtitles

The Five-Leaf Lilac Blossom

Germany 1993, Director: Yingli Ma, DCP, 30 min, German and Mandarin with subtitles

Guest: Yingli Ma
Curated by Fiona Berg, Sophie Holzberger, and Arisa PurkpongTranslated with DeepL

Price: €10.00

Reduced price: €7.00

Next date:

• Date Friday, 13/November/2026 20:30
• Venue Deutsche Kinemathek
• Address Mauerstraße 79, 10117 Berlin-Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin