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Geheimnisse einer Seele

Secrets of a Soul
Berlinale Classics 2026
Quelle: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung
A chemist develops a sudden phobia of picking up a knife. He has also recently been suffering from terrible nightmares. Could it have been triggered by a knife murder in the neighbourhood? Or maybe because he accidently cut his wife with a knife. Or perhaps it is the impending visit of his wife’s virile cousin, given that his own marriage has remained childless. It seems a psychiatrist might provide help.
The emotionally disturbed man complains of “nebulous images” at night. And in fact, it was the brilliant constructs of cinematographer and special effects maestro Guido Seeber that turned the avant-garde montages of this psycho-thriller into the first surrealistic narrative film in German. This world premiere of the digitally restored 4K version of Secrets of a Soul is accompanied by a composition by South Korean Yongbom Lee, produced by 2eleven music film. As the chamber music ensemble Broken Frames Syndicate performs, the aiar collective captures the neural activity of the violist and turns it into electronic sounds and light in real time.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Georg Wilhelm Pabst (Director), Colin Ross (Screenplay), Hans Neumann (Screenplay)
with Werner Krauss, Ruth Weyher, Ilka Grüning, Jack Trevor, Pawel Pawlow, Hertha von Walther, Renate Brausewetter, Colin Ross Germany 1926 German intertitles 80' Black/White World premiere of the digitally restored version

With

  • Werner Krauss
  • Ruth Weyher
  • Ilka Grüning
  • Jack Trevor
  • Pawel Pawlow
  • Hertha von Walther
  • Renate Brausewetter
  • Colin Ross

Crew

Director Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Screenplay Colin Ross, Hans Neumann
Cinematography Guido Seeber, Curt Oertel, Walter Robert Lach
Editing Paul Falkenberg
Music Yongbom Lee
Production Design Ernö Metzner
Producer Hans Neumann

Additional information

DCP: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden

Photos