Women in Film: Recha Jungmann

Rediscovering a Female Filmmaker

By Christina Schultz

Recha Jungmann (photo: Tabitha Cargnel)

I must admit I hadn't heard of Recha Jungmann until about eight weeks ago. My guess is you haven't heard of her either - until now. And that is precisely the issue. But how fortunate we are to have organizations like the Kinothek Asta Nielsen who fight to keep the work of female filmmakers on the verge of societal oblivion alive in our collective consciousness. But why Recha Jungmann? Why now?

Over the past few years we have witnessed a much needed change in the media landscape, particularly in film and television. More women are part of the creation of the images we consume daily. This is important and necessary in expanding our horizons, gaining new perspectives and feeling validated as women in today's society. 

Recha Jungmann, who was active as an actress starting in the 1950s and then as a filmmaker from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, was telling stories of women when even less women felt comfortable doing so. There were no 5050 by 2020, Times Up, Yes She Cannes or Me Too movements empowering women to challenge the patriarchy and fight for equality. And yet she made three feature length films and several short films (which will be screened at Remake. Frankfurter Frauen Film Tage, more info below) that center around topics like mother- and womanhood, love and loss.

For example, her first documentary film, Renate (1968), is an intimate love story from the perspective of the eponymous 13-year-old girl. Her film Two Right, Two Left, Drop One, "a short flighty poem"  about two women arguing over a man, premiered at the 1st Toronto Women's Film Festival in 1972. One of Jungmann's feature length films, Etwas tut weh (Something Hurts, 1979), is a poignant, personal investigation of what hurt (or still hurts) the director: the postwar past, the familial suffering, the destruction at the hands of the Nazis. Other titles include Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (Our Mothers, Our Fathers) about the scars left behind in the postwar period and Zwischen Mond und Sonne (Between the Moon and the Sun), an ode to Jungmann's son Titus.  

*Still from "Etwas tut weh"

*Still from "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter"

*Still from "Zwischen Mond und Sonne"

Following the above works, Recha's career then shifted from film to television (especially documentaries) after a lack of funding for a further film project. She never became a big (although "big" is still relative) name like some of her German female filmmaking contemporaries - one might think of Margarethe von Trotta, Helma Sanders-Brahms or Helke Sander, generally mentioned in German cinema books. But we hope to change that! You will have multiple chances to see Recha Jungmann's films, hear her speak about her work and perhaps even meet her in and around Frankfurt, Germany.  

Here is a list of screenings for Recha Jungmann's films as part of the Remake. Frankfurter Frauen Film Tage / Remake. Frankfurt Women's Film Days (click on the events below for more info): 

Saturday, November 3 at 8:30pm
Etwas tut weh and Renate 
Kino im Deutschen Filmmuseum 
Guest: Recha Jungmann

Sunday, November 4 at 5:00pm
Two Right, Two Left, Drop One and Zwischen Mond und Sonne
Kino im Deutschen Filmmuseum
​Guest: Recha Jungmann

Thursday, November 8 at 11:00am
Etwas tut weh 
Pupille - Kino in der Uni

Wednesday, November 14 at 8:15pm
Etwas tut weh 
Murnau-Filmtheater Wiesbaden ​

Sources: 
www.remake-festival.de/en/programme/topics/ 
www.remake-festival.de/en/programme/films-a-to-z/
www.remake-festival.de/en/programme/timetable/

​*All photos are copyright Recha Jungmann (provided graciously to us by the Kinothek Asta Nielsen) unless otherwise noted. 

​Please visit the links above for more information about tickets, event locations and other fabulous movies and events! The site is available in English and auf Deutsch.