• The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

    Research materials, notebooks, screenplays in various versions…

  • The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

    Costings, shooting scripts, production diaries…

  • The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

    Storyboards, shooting and mixing plans, several thousand work photographs, stills, production photographs…

  • The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

    Posters, props, awards and certificates…

  • The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

    …and exclusive video material.

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The Volker Schlöndorff Collection

The Deutsches Filminstitut / Deutsches Filmmuseum presents the diverse collection as a virtual exhibition

The Volker Schlöndorff Collection is one of the most significant and comprehensive collections in the archive of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum relating to New German Cinema. In June 1992, Volker Schlöndorff transferred all existing material of his films to the Deutsches Filmmuseum’s archive. On 31 March 2014 – Volker Schlöndorff’s seventy-fifth birthday – the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum presented this diverse collection as a virtual exhibition. The exhibition combines text and images with multimedia elements, and draws upon both the collections of the archive and on supplementary materials such as video interviews, educational media documents, and exclusive essays by film scholars. In one of the first curatorial selections of Schlöndorff’s work, documents and materials dealing with key films from the filmmaker’s extensive filmography have been prepared editorially and made available online. These are being further expanded and developed; step-by-step.

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The Collection as a Virtual Exhibition

The convenience of the Information Age allows content to be accessed from Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones at any time and virtually anywhere. Museums have adopted new methods of working with their inventories, through the process of digitalization. Access to archival material is now more accessible to the public. With just a click of a mouse, or a swipe of a finger, material of The Volker Schlöndorff Collection can be accessed and navigated. For simply perusing, or for a comprehensive study session, these materials, in high resolution, can be zoomed in on and shared with others – without the risk of damaging the source material. This virtual space allows one to experience a wide range of diverse exhibits, such as photographs, documents and film. The interactive nature of this archive grants the user the ability to make connections between sources, and the ability to draw one’s own interpretations from the archive.

As an example, excerpts from Schlöndorff’s shooting scripts have been superimposed onto abridged scenes. The resulting collages allow one to dive into the mind of Schlöndorff and witness his creative process, as he was involved in the screenplay writing process for most of his films. Dialogue and stage directions were typed, annotated by hand, deleted and further expanded upon; describing, commenting and defining the work. As a result of the creative process, a new form of media is available, which can be used as a tool for deeper film analysis, as well as a starting point for film appreciation, and gaining insight into how his films were made.

Additionally, interview excerpts and audio-commentaries with Volker Schlöndorff contextualize the archive’s material.

  • THE VOYAGER “Café-Sequence”

  • THE TIN DRUM Oskar’s birth

  • THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM “Carnival Party”-sequence

  • THE SUDDEN WEALTH OF THE POOR PEOPLE OF KOMBACH “Sequence 9”

  • YOUNG TÖRLESS Schlöndorff on the scandal in Cannes

  • THE VOYAGER “Tuileries-Sequence”

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The Archive

Research materials, notebooks, screenplays in various versions, cost statements, shooting scripts, production diaries, storyboards, shooting and mixing plans, correspondence, production stills, film stills, posters, props, awards and certificates provide not only an overview of more than fifty years of Schlöndorff’s work as a director, but insight into the development of filmmaking in a comprehensive time frame. This ongoing collection is continuously and personally expanded by Schlöndorff. It also includes documentation on his current productions, thus forming the far finished life work of Germany’s most significant filmmakers.

To the Archive

The Films

In a curatorial selection, we present editorially and digitally edited archival materials on eleven films from Schlöndorff’s extensive filmography. Among the documents are numerous unique items, which can be accessed online here for the first time:

With Schlöndorff’s contribution:

  • VIVA MARIA! (1965) (German only)

Filmography, biography and further information at:

In partnership with:

Thanks to:

Förderkreis des Deutschen Filminstituts/Deutschen Filmmuseums e.V.