Farewell, Joseph (Leb wohl, Joseph) 34 years old

Film director Andreas Kleinert belongs to the last generation of filmmakers that emerged in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). Born in 1962, Kleinert's attitudes were shaped by the late 1970s, and particularly by the 1980s—a period of increasing disillusionment. He wrote his thesis on “Levels of Consciousness in the Film Poetry of Andrei Tarkovsky,” the late Soviet film director who made a name for himself in the pre-perestroika years with bleak films. As Kleinert completed his film academy studies with his graduation film, Leb' wohl, Joseph ( Farewell, Joseph, 1989), the Berlin Wall fell, heralding the collapse of the GDR. Kleinert won the main prize for his diploma feature film, Leb' wohl, Joseph, at the Munich International Festival for Film Schools. The next year, this remarkable black-and-white Kafkaesque film of cryptic symbols and enigmatic metaphors was invited to compete at Locarno.

Credits

Cornelia Schmaus as Frau

Peter Prager as Joseph

Christoph Engel as Alter Kollege

Peter Zimmermann as Freund

Bärbel Bolle as

Farewell, Joseph Cast

Name	Character
Cornelia Schmaus She was 43, now 78 years old	as Frau
Peter Prager He was 37, now 72 years old	as Joseph
Christoph Engel He was 64, 86 years old when he died	as Alter Kollege
Peter Zimmermann He was 38, now 73 years old	as Freund
Bärbel Bolle She was 48, 73 years old when she died

Farewell, Joseph Crew

Name	Department
Jürgen Brauer as Cinematography. He was 51 (now 86) years old	Crew
Andreas Hoffmann as Producer. He was 29 (now 64) years old	Production
Andreas Kleinert as Director. He was 27 (now 62) years old	Directing
Andreas Kleinert as Writer. He was 27 (now 62) years old	Writing
Sebastian Richter as Cinematography. He was 26 (now 61) years old	Crew
Sebastian Richter as Editor. He was 26 (now 61) years old	Editing
Sebastian Richter as Writer. He was 26 (now 61) years old	Writing

Farewell, Joseph (34 years)

Release day: Sunday, December 31, 1989
Runtime: 68 minutes