Rosa von Praunheim
Encyclopedia
Rosa von Praunheim in Riga
, Latvia
. His given name is Holger Mischwitzky. He is a German
film director
, author, painter and gay rights activist
. Openly
gay
, he is one of the initiators of the gay rights movement in Germany.
A prolific filmmaker, he has made over fifty feature films. A senior member of the Berlin school of underground filmmaking, he began his career associated to the New German Cinema
. He took the artistic female name Rosa Von Praunheim to remind people of the pink triangle that homosexuals had to wear in Nazi concentration camps. A pioneer of Queer Cinema, von Praunheim has been an activist in the gay rights movement. An early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex, he has been a controversial figure even within the gay community. His films center on gay related themes and strong female characters. His works are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. His films have featured such personalities as Jayne County
, Vaginal Davis
, Divine, and Jeff Stryker
.
, Central Prison during the German occupation of Latvia
in World War II
. His biological mother died in 1946 at the psychiatric hospital in Berlin Heilstätten Wittenauer. After his birth, he was given up for adoption. He only knew these facts when his adoptive mother, Gertrud Mischwitzky, told him in 2000. He discovered the fate of his biological mother in 2006 after a lengthy investigation. He documented his quest in the film Two mothers (2007).
He received the name Holger Mitschwitzki and spent his early years in East Berlin
. In 1953, he escaped from East Germany with his family to West Germany
, first to the Rhineland
moving later to Frankfurt am Main. After Praunheim left the classical language high school in Frankfurt (Humanistisches Gymnasium), he studied at the Werkkunstschule in Offenbach. He then transferred to the Berlin University of the Arts where he studied fine arts but did not graduate. He initially worked as painter, but eventually opted for a career in filmmaking.
with experimental and short movies, like Sisters of the Revolutions (1968) and Samuel Beckett (1969), with which he soon became famous. In the mid sixties, he assumed the stage name "Rosa von Praunheim", a portmanteau of the Frankfurt quarter Praunheim and German 'rosa' for 'pink', alluding to the pink triangle
that homosexual prisoners had to wear in concentration camps. Praunheim married the actress Carla Aulaulu in 1969. The marriage ended two years later in divorce. During this same period, he also collaborated with Elfi Mikesch in a number of film projects.
Praunheim's first big feature film was produced in 1970: Die Bettwurst(The Bolsters), a parody of bourgeois marriage. It became a cult movie, which had a sequel in 1973 (Berliner Bettwurst). In the same year, he also caused a stir with his documentary It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives
which led to several gay rights groups being founded.
A prolific and controversial filmmaker, Praunheim has centered his directorial efforts in documentaries featuring gay related themes. In the early 1970s he lived for some time in the United States where he made a series of documentaries about post- Stonewall
American gay scene. In Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts(1972-1976) he took on the American gay and lesbian movement from the 1950’s to 1976. He was also interested in the underground theater in New York City
which was the focus of some of his films of this period including Underground and Emigrants (1975). In 1979 Praunheim obtained a German Film Award for Tally Brown, New York, a documentary about the singer and actress Tally Brown
.
Back in Berlin he made feature films such as Red Love (1980), Our Corpses Are Still Alive (1981), and City of Lost Souls (1983). These films were shown in film festivals worldwide. His feature film Horror Vacui won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for best experimental film in 1985. Anita – Dances of Vice (1988) the life story of a scandalous nude dancer in Berlin in the 1920’s, earned international attention.
With the irruption of the AIDS
epidemic, Praunheim worked in a tetralogy
of AIDS themed documentaries. A Virus Knows No Morals (1985), was one of the first feature films about AIDS
.
The documentaries Positive and Silence = Death, both shot in 1989 deal with aspects of AIDS activism in New York. Fire Under Your Ass (1990) focuses about AIDS in Berlin.
In Germany Rosa was very vocal in his efforts to educate people about the danger of AIDS and the necessity of practicing Safer Sex. These efforts alienated many gays who came to consider him a moralistic panic-monger. He would remain a highly controversial figure in his native country.
On December 10, 1991, Praunheim created a scandal in Germany when he outed
, among others, the anchorman Alfred Biolek
, the comedian Hape Kerkeling
and wrongly the actor Götz George
in the TV show Explosiv - Der heiße Stuhl as gay. After the show several celebrities had their coming out
.
In 1999 he made Geisendörfer Medienpreis for Wunderbares Wrodow, a documentary about the people in and around a German village and its castle.
In 30 years, Praunheim has made more than 50 films. Besides homosexuality, his subjects include older, vital women (for example, Evelyn Künneke and Lotti Huber) and since the later 1980s the AIDS
prevention.
Until 2006, Rosa von Praunheim taught directing at the Film & Television Academy (HFF) “Konrad Wolf” Potsdam-Babelsberg. He lives in Berlin
.
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. His given name is Holger Mischwitzky. He is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, author, painter and gay rights activist
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
. Openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, he is one of the initiators of the gay rights movement in Germany.
A prolific filmmaker, he has made over fifty feature films. A senior member of the Berlin school of underground filmmaking, he began his career associated to the New German Cinema
New German Cinema
New German cinema is a period in German cinema which lasted from the late 1960s into the 1980s. It saw the emergence of a new generation of directors...
. He took the artistic female name Rosa Von Praunheim to remind people of the pink triangle that homosexuals had to wear in Nazi concentration camps. A pioneer of Queer Cinema, von Praunheim has been an activist in the gay rights movement. An early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex, he has been a controversial figure even within the gay community. His films center on gay related themes and strong female characters. His works are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. His films have featured such personalities as Jayne County
Jayne County
Jayne County , formerly known as Wayne County, is an American male-to-female transsexual performer, musician and actress whose career has spanned several decades. County would go on to be known as rock's first transsexual singer...
, Vaginal Davis
Vaginal Davis
Vaginal Davis is an American genderqueer performing artist, painter, independent curator, composer, and writer. Davis's name is a homage to activist Angela Davis.-Life and career:Davis is often associated with the formation of the Queer-Core Zine Movement...
, Divine, and Jeff Stryker
Jeff Stryker
Jeff Stryker is an American porn star who has starred in bisexual, gay, and straight adult films...
.
Early life
Von Praunheim was born in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Central Prison during the German occupation of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His biological mother died in 1946 at the psychiatric hospital in Berlin Heilstätten Wittenauer. After his birth, he was given up for adoption. He only knew these facts when his adoptive mother, Gertrud Mischwitzky, told him in 2000. He discovered the fate of his biological mother in 2006 after a lengthy investigation. He documented his quest in the film Two mothers (2007).
He received the name Holger Mitschwitzki and spent his early years in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. In 1953, he escaped from East Germany with his family to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, first to the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
moving later to Frankfurt am Main. After Praunheim left the classical language high school in Frankfurt (Humanistisches Gymnasium), he studied at the Werkkunstschule in Offenbach. He then transferred to the Berlin University of the Arts where he studied fine arts but did not graduate. He initially worked as painter, but eventually opted for a career in filmmaking.
Career
In the late 1960s, he began experimenting in film and creative writing. He made his debut associated with Werner SchroeterWerner Schroeter
Werner Schroeter was a German film director and screenwriter, who some consider among the most important German writer-directors of the post-war period.-Biography:...
with experimental and short movies, like Sisters of the Revolutions (1968) and Samuel Beckett (1969), with which he soon became famous. In the mid sixties, he assumed the stage name "Rosa von Praunheim", a portmanteau of the Frankfurt quarter Praunheim and German 'rosa' for 'pink', alluding to the pink triangle
Pink triangle
The pink triangle was one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, used to identify male prisoners who were sent there because of their homosexuality. Every prisoner had to wear a downward-pointing triangle on his or her jacket, the colour of which was to categorise him or her by "kind"...
that homosexual prisoners had to wear in concentration camps. Praunheim married the actress Carla Aulaulu in 1969. The marriage ended two years later in divorce. During this same period, he also collaborated with Elfi Mikesch in a number of film projects.
Praunheim's first big feature film was produced in 1970: Die Bettwurst(The Bolsters), a parody of bourgeois marriage. It became a cult movie, which had a sequel in 1973 (Berliner Bettwurst). In the same year, he also caused a stir with his documentary It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives
It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives
It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives is a 1971 German camp film directed by Rosa von Praunheim...
which led to several gay rights groups being founded.
A prolific and controversial filmmaker, Praunheim has centered his directorial efforts in documentaries featuring gay related themes. In the early 1970s he lived for some time in the United States where he made a series of documentaries about post- Stonewall
Stonewall
The word Stonewall may refer to* a stone wall* a verb meaning "to refuse to cooperate, especially in supplying information" -Games and entertainment:* "Stonewall structure" of pawns in the chess opening theory:** Stonewall Attack...
American gay scene. In Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts(1972-1976) he took on the American gay and lesbian movement from the 1950’s to 1976. He was also interested in the underground theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
which was the focus of some of his films of this period including Underground and Emigrants (1975). In 1979 Praunheim obtained a German Film Award for Tally Brown, New York, a documentary about the singer and actress Tally Brown
Tally Brown
Tally Brown was a singer and actress who was known to be part of the New York underground performance scene and who appeared in or was the subject of films by Andy Warhol and Rosa von Praunheim.- Musical and singing career :Brown received classical musical training at Juilliard; however, she...
.
Back in Berlin he made feature films such as Red Love (1980), Our Corpses Are Still Alive (1981), and City of Lost Souls (1983). These films were shown in film festivals worldwide. His feature film Horror Vacui won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for best experimental film in 1985. Anita – Dances of Vice (1988) the life story of a scandalous nude dancer in Berlin in the 1920’s, earned international attention.
With the irruption of the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic, Praunheim worked in a tetralogy
Tetralogy
A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works....
of AIDS themed documentaries. A Virus Knows No Morals (1985), was one of the first feature films about AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
The documentaries Positive and Silence = Death, both shot in 1989 deal with aspects of AIDS activism in New York. Fire Under Your Ass (1990) focuses about AIDS in Berlin.
In Germany Rosa was very vocal in his efforts to educate people about the danger of AIDS and the necessity of practicing Safer Sex. These efforts alienated many gays who came to consider him a moralistic panic-monger. He would remain a highly controversial figure in his native country.
On December 10, 1991, Praunheim created a scandal in Germany when he outed
Outing
Outing is the act of disclosing a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person's true sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Outing gives rise to issues of privacy, choice, hypocrisy, and harm in addition to sparking debate on what constitutes common good in efforts...
, among others, the anchorman Alfred Biolek
Alfred Biolek
Alfred Biolek is a well-known German entertainer and television producer...
, the comedian Hape Kerkeling
Hape Kerkeling
Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling is a well-known German actor, presenter and comedian.-Career:At secondary school in Recklinghausen, Hape Kerkeling and some fellow students formed a band and published a record .Kerkeling started his career as a comedian in radio, working for various German...
and wrongly the actor Götz George
Götz George
Götz George is a German actor, son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg commissar Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series Tatort.-Early years:...
in the TV show Explosiv - Der heiße Stuhl as gay. After the show several celebrities had their coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
.
In 1999 he made Geisendörfer Medienpreis for Wunderbares Wrodow, a documentary about the people in and around a German village and its castle.
In 30 years, Praunheim has made more than 50 films. Besides homosexuality, his subjects include older, vital women (for example, Evelyn Künneke and Lotti Huber) and since the later 1980s the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
prevention.
Until 2006, Rosa von Praunheim taught directing at the Film & Television Academy (HFF) “Konrad Wolf” Potsdam-Babelsberg. He lives in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Books
- Männer, Rauschgift und der Tod. 1967
- Oh Muvie. 1968, Fotoroman mit Elfie Mikesch
- Sex und Karriere. Rowohlt TB-V., 1978, ISBN 3-499-14214-7
- Armee der Liebenden oder Aufstand der Perversen. 1979, ISBN 3-881-67046-7
- Gibt es Sex nach dem Tode. Prometh Verlag, 1981, ISBN 3-922-00930-1
- Rote "Liebe" : ein Gespräch mit Helga Goetze.. Prometh Verl., 1982, ISBN 3-922-00947-6
- 50 Jahre pervers. Die sentimentalen Memoiren des Rosa von Praunheim.. Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1993, ISBN 3-462-02476-0
- Folge dem Fieber und tanze: Briefwechsel mit Mario Wirz. Aufbau-Verlag, 1995
- Mein Armloch. Martin Schmitz Verlag, 2002, Gedichte
- Die Rache der alten dicken Tunte. 2006, Fotobuch
- Die Bettwurst und meine Tante Lucy. 2006, Fotobuch
Selected filmography
- 1969: Sisters of the Revolution
- 1970: Die Bettwurst
- 1970: It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He LivesIt Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He LivesIt Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives is a 1971 German camp film directed by Rosa von Praunheim...
- 1973: Berliner Bettwurst
- 1973: Axel von Auersperg
- 1979: Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts
- 1980: Rote Liebe
- 1981: Unsere Leichen leben noch
- 1981: Red Love
- 1983: City of Lost Souls
- 1984: Horror vacui
- 1985: A Virus Knows no Morals
- 1987: Anita: Dances of Vice
- 1988: Dolly, Lotte and Maria
- 1989: Überleben in New York
- 1990: Silence = Death
- 1990: PositivePositivePositive is a property of positivity and may refer to:- Mathematics and science :* Converging lens or positive lens, in optics* Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a positive number* Positive , a polarity of electrical charge...
- 1991: Affengeil
- 1992: I Am My Own WomanI Am My Own WomanI Am My Own Woman is a 1992 German film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. The film, a documentary-drama, follows the life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, an East German transsexual who survived the Nazis and the repression of the Communists and helped start the German gay liberation movement...
- 1995: Neurosia: 50 Years of PerversityNeurosia: 50 Years of PerversityNeurosia: 50 Years of Perversity is a 1992 German film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. The film is a mockumentary, an autobiography of Rosa von Praunheim, framed as murder mystery in which the director is the victim.-Plot:Rosa von Praunheim, a controversial German film director, Introduces the...
- 1999: The Einstein of SexDer Einstein des SexThe Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld is a 1999 German film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. The plot follows the life of the Jewish doctor Magnus Hirschfeld who was a sexologist and gay socialist...
- 1999: Can I Be Your Bratwurst, Please?
- 1999: Wunderbares Wrodow
- 2000: Fassbinder's Women
- 2001: Tunten lügen nicht
- 2002: Kühe vom Nebel geschwängert
- 2002: Pfui Rosa!
- 2002: Queens Don't Cry
- 2005: Heroes and Gay Nazis
- 2005: Your Heart in My Head
- 2007: Two mothersTwo MothersTwo Mothers is a 1921 Czechoslovak romantic drama film directed by Přemysl Pražský.-Cast:*Helena Friedlová*Marta Májová*Jiří Myron*Theodor Pištěk*Růžena Šlemrová*Marie Ptáková*Přemysl Pražský*Béda Pražský...
- 2008: Der rosa Riese
- 2009: History of Hell
- 2010: New York Memories
- 2011: Rent Boys