Merry Christmas Deutschland oder Vorlesung zur Geschichtstheorie II

Forum Special Fiktionsbescheinigung 2022

In the early 1980s, Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck studied directing at Berlin’s German Film and Television Academy and made Merry Christmas Deutschland oder Vorlesung zur Geschichtstheorie II as part of his studies, an atmospheric, lucid and politically astute essay in which the director’s signature approach to non-fiction that would flourish further in later works is already on display. Utilising contradictions and counterpoints, these dense but unhurried 18 minutes pair rephotographed television clips of German parliamentary debates with footage of the city’s drab post-war architecture – at times inserting additional colour by way of solarization and other experimental flourishes – all set to Vivaldi, Miles Davis and nondescript audio snippets about shopping and a desire for world peace. In lieu of a first-person voice-over, Peck inserts ironic dictionary definition intertitles of words like “optimism” and “democracy” alongside selected citations, including Prussian General Clausewitz’s declaration that “wars of educated people are less gruesome”, a guiding fallacy that Peck rallies against, and has continued to confront in the decades since.

by Raoul Peck (Written and Directed by) Federal Republic of Germany 1985 German 18' Colour & Black/White Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by	Raoul Peck
Cinematography	Raoul Peck
Editing	Raoul Peck
Production Manager	Liselotte Wawiloff

Produced by

Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)

Berlin, Germany

Geneviève Dulude-de Celles

After completing a master’s degree centred on language and poetry in cinema, the Montreal-based filmmaker made La coupe which won Best International Short Film at Sundance. She went on to direct two feature-length documentaries, Bienvenue à F.L. and Les jours. Her debut fiction feature film, Une colonie, was selected for the Berlinale Generation section where it won the Crystal Bear for Best Film before going on to secure Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards. Nina Roza is her second fiction feature film.

Filmography (Filmography)

2010 Chers Amis (Dear Friends); short film 2014 La coupe (The Cut); short film 2015 Bienvenue à F.L. (Welcome to F.L.) 2018 Une colonie (A Colony); Berlinale 2019 2023 Les jours (Days); documentary 2026 Nina Roza

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026