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Geschichten vom Kübelkind

Stories of the Dumpster Kid
Forum 2018
© Edgar Reitz Filmstiftung
The Dumpster Kid (Kristine de Loup) grows from a placenta. Dr. Wohlfahrt from social services finds her on a hospital rubbish dump. In subsequent episodes, she looks for foster parents to take responsibility for the kid and integrate her into society. Dumpster Kid goes to school and to church. Always dressed in a red dress and red tights, she is nosy about everything, asking a few too many questions and taking whatever she desires. She steals and has sex, seducing some and humiliating others. She meets Al Capone and d’Artagnan. She is always in danger, yet immortal.
Ula Stöckl and Edgar Reitz made Geschichten vom Kübelkind in 1969 entirely with their friends, taking on a radical position outside the standard cinema system with their series of 25 16-mm shorts of different lengths. Guests at a pub-cum-cinema in Munich could select the episodes they wanted to watch from a menu.
The Geschichten vom Kübelkind were shown at the very first edition of the International Forum of New Cinema in 1971. Now the series has been digitally restored and will screen alongside Robert Fischer’s documentary Der Film verlässt das Kino: Vom Kübelkind-Experiment und anderen Utopien.
by Edgar Reitz (Written and Directed by), Ula Stöckl (Written and Directed by)
with Kristine de Loup, Bruno Bendel, Alf Brustellin, Ilse Brustellin, Hans-Heinrich Brustellin, Antje Ellermann, Heidewig Fankhänel, Peter Finkenstaedt, Jacques Freers, Werner Herzog Germany 1971 German 220' Colour

With

  • Kristine de Loup (Das Kübelkind)
  • Bruno Bendel (Kreditfachmann)
  • Alf Brustellin (d'Artagnan / ein guter Mensch)
  • Ilse Brustellin (Schwiegermutter)
  • Hans-Heinrich Brustellin (Schwiegervater / Graf Rochefort)
  • Antje Ellermann (Hebamme)
  • Heidewig Fankhänel (Frau Dr. Wohlfahrt)
  • Peter Finkenstaedt (der junge Mönch)
  • Jacques Freers (Lord Winter)
  • Werner Herzog (Hurenmörder)

Crew

Written and Directed by Edgar Reitz, Ula Stöckl
Cinematography Edgar Reitz
Editing Jessy von Sternberg
Music Ekkehart Kühn
Sound Guido Reitz
Producer Edgar Reitz

World Sales

Edgar Reitz Filmstiftung

Produced by

Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion

Photos

Edgar Reitz

© Julia Stipsits

The filmmaker and writer was born in Morbach, Germany in 1932. He studied theatre and German literature and is a member of the Oberhausen Group that initiated the German auteur film in 1962. His feature, documentary and experimental films, including Die Reise nach Wien, Stunde Null and the Heimat trilogy, have garnered great international attention and received many awards. He is a university professor and the author of numerous articles and illustrated books on film. His autobiography was published in 2022. In 2024, Filmstunde_23 celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale. The film has been released in cinemas in 2025.

Filmography

1967 Mahlzeiten · Fußnoten 1968 Filmstunde 1969 Cardillac 1971 Kino zwei · Geschichten vom Kübelkind; co-directed by: Ula Stöckl 1972 Das goldene Ding; co-directed by: Alf Brustellin, Nikos Perakis, Ula Stöckl 1973 Die Reise nach Wien 1977 Stunde Null 1979 Der Schneider von Ulm 1981 Geschichten aus den Hunsrückdörfern 1984 Heimat – eine Deutsche Chronik; 11 parts 1992 Die zweite Heimat – Chronik einer Jugend; 13 parts 1995 Die Nacht der Regisseure 2004 Heimat 3 – Chronik einer Zeitenwende; 6 parts 2006 Heimat – Fragmente – Die Frauen 2007 Ortswechsel 2013 Kafka geht ins Kino · Die andere Heimat 2024 Filmstunde_23; co-directed by: Jörg Adolph 2025 Leibniz - Chronik eines verschollenen Bildes (Leibniz - Chronicle of a lost Painting); co-directed by: Anatol Schuster

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025

Ula Stöckl

Born in Ulm, Germany in 1938, she studied languages in London and Paris. Afterwards she studied at the Institut für Filmgestaltung in Ulm. She has also directed television films and theatre. Ula Stöckl is an associate professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Filmography (selection)

1968 Neun Leben hat die Katze; 86 min., Retrospective 1977, Classics 2015 1972 Das goldene Ding; 90 min., Forum 1972, co-directed by Alf Brustellin, Nikos Perakis, Edgar Reitz 1974 Ein ganz perfektes Ehepaar; 90 min., Berlinale 1977 1976 Erikas Leidenschaften; 64 min., Forum 1977 1984 Der Schlaf der Vernunft; 82 min., Forum 1984 · Jakobs Tauben; Forum 1984, 45 min. 1991 Das alte Lied; 82 min., Forum 1992 2015 Die Widerständigen „also machen wir das weiter ...“; 87 Min., Panorama 2015, co-directed by Katrin Seybold

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019