Underplayed Gems

Coming Out (1989)

Coming Out poster
Directed by
Heiner Carow
Genre
drama film, romance film, LGBTQ-related film
Country
German Democratic Republic
Runtime
1h 53m
Rated
12
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 47 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A high school teacher in East Berlin struggles to accept his own homosexuality. He navigates a secret relationship while confronting society's disapproval and his own fears.

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What happens

Coming Out is a 1989 East German film directed by Heiner Carow and written by Wolfram Witt which deals with the lead character, a high school teacher, "coming out" and accepting himself as gay. It was the last East German film released to the public prior to the German reunification and one of the last films made by DEFA, the East German state film studio, and the only gay-themed feature film that it made. The film premiered at the Kino International in Berlin on 9 November 1989, the night that the Berlin Wall was opened. It won a number of awards including a Silver Bear and Teddy Award at 40th Berlin International Film Festival, and awards at the National Feature Film Festival of the GDR. The lead actors are Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, and Dirk Kummer. The film was shot on location in East Berlin and includes scenes shot with amateurs in some of the gay venues of the time. The East German transgender activist Charlotte von Mahlsdorf played a cameo role as a barmaid. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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