Coming Out

Examines the creation context and significance of the first and only East German feature film about homosexuality. <p/>It took forty years for East Germany's state-run studios DEFA to produce a feature film about homosexuality: Coming Out. The film's story seems radically ordinary today: a young teacher Philipp is gay but cannot accept the truth about his sexuality. He starts a relationship with a fellow teacher Tanja but falls in love with a man he meets Matthias whose confidence in his own self-understanding is alluring for him as well as a challenge. Acclaimed director Heiner Carow created a film that shows the difficulties both internalized and external that queer people faced in East Germany. In a quirk of history Coming Out premiered in German theaters on November 9 1989 the very night on which the Berlin Wall was opened which meant the film was initially overshadowed to say the least by the earthshaking political events. Yet it remains a popular film and is regularly screened around the world including prominently at queer film festivals. Kyle Frackman's book examines the film in both the late East German context of its creation and the international context of its reception. The book will be published in both paperback and Open Access form.