"MY WONDERFUL WEST BERLIN offers a brilliant homage to hedonism, the story of 1960s West Berlin and the righteous freedom of the gay community of the era. Weaving archival material with contemporary footage, director Jochen Hick offers a bittersweet tribute to a city whose bars, cruising, radical bookstores, and left-wing politics paved the way for new German attitudes toward liberation.
"Though homosexuality was officially criminalized in Germany from 1871 to 1995, West Berlin offered a glorious refuge. Both a magnet for gay men and the epicenter of the growing campaign to end repression, West Berlin became a vibrant home to leather bars, drag performance, and political mobilization. MY WONDERFUL WEST BERLIN is a beautiful, lush production that captures both the unabashed sexual energy of the city, as well as the complicated history of LGBTQ people in Germany, where 'difference' has been and remains an ongoing challenge. The film suggests that, in a time when oppression remains a real threat for gays (as well as minorities, women, and refugees), the real triumph is in audacious resistance."—Laure Parsons
Director Jochen Hick in attendance!
Sponsored By: Deb Kemp & Tom Barreto