The Oberhausen Manifesto was a declaration by a group of 26 young German

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

s at the

International Short Film Festival Oberhausen The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International C ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

on 28 February 1962. The manifesto was a call to arms to establish a "new German feature film". It was initiated by Haro Senft and among the signatories were the

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Alexander Kluge Alexander Kluge (born 14 February 1932) is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director. Early life, education and early career Kluge was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. After growing up durin ...

and

Edgar Reitz Edgar Reitz (born 1 November 1932) is a German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (State University of Design) in Karlsruhe. He is best-known for his internationally acclaimed '' Heimat film series'' (1 ...

. The manifesto was associated with the motto ''"Papas Kino ist tot"'' (Papa's cinema is dead), although this phrase does not appear in the manifesto itself. The signatories to the manifesto became known as the Oberhausen Group and are seen as important forerunners of the

New German Cinema New German Cinema (german: Neuer Deutscher Film) is a period in German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neore ...

that began later in the decade. Their names are: * Bodo Blüthner * Boris von Borresholm * Christian Doermer * Bernhard Dörries * Heinz Furchner * Rob Houwer * Ferdinand Khittl * Alexander Kluge * Pitt Koch * Walter Krüttner * Dieter Lemmel * Hans Loeper * Ronald Martini * Hansjürgen Pohland * Raimund Ruehl * Edgar Reitz * Peter Schamoni * Detten Schleiermacher * Fritz Schwennicke * Haro Senft * Franz-Josef Spieker * Hans Rolf Strobel * Heinz Tichawsky * Wolfgang Urchs * Herbert Vesely * Wolf Wirth The Oberhausen Group were awarded the Deutscher Filmpreis in 1982.

External links

Text of the Manifesto (English translation)Text of the Manifesto (German language)Interview with Peter Berling
Cinema of Germany Oberhausen 20th century in North Rhine-Westphalia 1962 in Germany 1962 in film 1962 documents {{film-org-stub