Disability Media in Germany

By Karl Heinz Gruber

"The Way We Live:" Germany's international disability film festival

Honestly speaking, our first attempt in 1995 to organise a festival for short films that are dealing with disability issues was rather naive and sort of egoistic, too. After ten years of TV production on disability in German television, "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Behinderung und Medien" (Association on Disability and Media) we just wanted to know how others were coming along in this area. We wanted both to learn more about the everyday lives of disabled people in different countries and cultures as they were described via film, and we wanted to compare different approaches in terms of different genres, different technical skills, different ways of story-telling etc. And of course, we have a particular interest in films that are made or controlled by disabled filmmakers or films with a significant contribution by disabled persons.

The first edition of "The Way We Live" took place in November 1995 at the Munich Filmmuseum, a very acclaimed institution in the world of cinema--with a very co-operative staff, very well equipped, accessible for wheelchair-users and located in the very centre of the city, all of which is very attractive for us.

From the very beginning, we wanted the Festival not only to be a venue to show films about disability issues, but also a forum for discussions and the exchange of experience from the points of view of the experts and the so-called mainstream public. In particular, we wanted to stimulate encounters and cooperation between professional film producers on one hand and disabled persons and their organisations on the other.

"The Way We Live" festival now gets about 200 to 300 entries from 30 to 40 countries. A pre-selection committee narrows this group to about 30 to 35 films for the Festival program. This program always is a bunch of very different flowers: prize-winning and acclaimed films alongside films having their premieres at "The Way We Live," highly professional productions alongside amateur videos, short fictions, documentaries, animation and experimental.

It is not very easy for our jury of five disabled and non-disabled film experts to decide on the three prizes. I have to admit that for me personally it is not very important to make rankings for the best, the second etc., but prizes always provide a certain suspense, and also our audience is very keen to decide on the public choice award. When you are talking about prizes, it is always illuminating, since you have to talk about categories and standards, which is much more than just discussing well-done or less well-done films.

Crucial interactions with the people behind the films

Apart from all the arguing about awards, we consider it crucial that the audience has the opportunity to exchange opinions with the people behind the films, and so we always try to invite the directors and/or producers or actors of all the films that are shown in the competition program, not only for a short presentation but also for discussions and meetings during the festival days.

We have a couple of special screenings or special events, sometimes dedicated to a special subject, sometimes a tribute for a film maker, and each festival we have one or two special screenings for school classes.

A special service of the Festival is the videotheque. In this videotheque, all films submitted to the competitions of all editions of "The Way We Live" are available for private screening, for the research of professionals, of festival organisers, of media staff, or for people who just are interested in particular subjects, particular countries, etc.

These are, very briefly, the most important figures and details for the Festival "The Way We Live." As a matter of fact, the festival also "lives" between the years, through selected films on tour.

First edition: November 1995

235 entries from 28 countries; in the competition program: 28 films from 11 countries
International Jury: Nadia Khromchenko, UNESCO, Paris; Stephen Dwoskin, film maker, Great Britain; Paul Anthony Darke, film critic, Great Britain; Michael Althen, film critic, Munich; Michael Verhoeven, film director and producer, Munich; Peter Radtke, actor, journalist, Munich.

Awards:

Sie Kennen Trudchen Luscher Nicht (You don't know Trudy Luescher), Germany 1994, 16 mm, color, 20 min, Documentary by Johannes Kley
Fred, USA 1988, 16 mm, color, 28 min, Documentary by Ron Ward
Kilka Opowiesci o Czlowieku (Scenes from the life of a man), Poland 1983, 35 mm, color, 20 min, Documentary by Bogdan Dziworski

UNESCO Special Prize: A is for Autism, Great Britain 1992, 16 mm, color, 12 min, animation by Tim Webb
Special Prize of the City of Munich: Mommy has a Crown, Israel 1995, Beta-cam, color, 26 min, Documentary by Debbie Jivan
Special Program: Film classics; Workshop on Audio-description

Second edition: November 1997

180 entries from 34 countries; In the competition program: 27 films from 13 countries
International Jury: Gudrun Geyer, director of the International Documentary Filmfestival Munich; Carole Piguet, actress, Zurich; Sian Vasey, Disability Programmes Unit BBC, London; Jan Beerling, photographer and film maker, Netherlands; Fritz Göttler, film critic, Munich; Peter Radtke, actor, journalist, Munich.

Awards:

Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, USA 1996, 16 mm, color, 35 min, documentary by Jessica Yu
O Troch Dnoch v Jasovskom Klastore (About three days in Jasov monastery), Slovakia 1996, 16 mm, color, 26 min, Documentary by Peter Kerekes
Silent Film, Great Britain 1996, 35 mm, color, 11 min, short fiction by Malcolm Venville

UNESCO Special Prize: Abak Jaye Here (A magic mystical marketplace), India 1996, Betacam color, 27 min, documentary by Ranjan Palit
Public Award: Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, USA 1996, 16 mm, color, 35 min, Documentary by Jessica Yu
Special Program: Tribute to Stephen Dwoskin

Third edition: November 2001

287 entries from 46 countries; In the competition program: 35 films from 19 countries
International Jury: Jenni Meredith, film maker and author, Great Britain; Sari Salovaara, National Gallery Helsinki, organiser of the Kynnyskino Festival; Mohan Agashe, actor, psychiatrist and director of the Film and Television Institute in Poona, India; Andreas Ströhl, Goethe Institute - Film Department, Munich; Peter Radtke, actor, journalist, Munich.

Awards:

Cousin and Brother, Australia 1998 and 1999, 16 mm, color, 5 and 8 min, Animation by Adam Benjamin Elliot
Better or Worse?, Great Britain 2000, 35 mm, color, 9 min, Short Fiction by Jocelyn Cammack
I Nie Opuszcze az do Smierci (Until death do us part), Poland 1999, Betacam, color, 29 min, Documentary by Maciej Adamek

Public Award: La Longueuer et la Largeur du Ciel (The length and breadth of the sky), Switzerland 1998, Betacam, color, 26 min, Documentary by Dominique Margot
Special Program: Workshop on "Disability and Illness in Fiction Films."

More details on the internet: www.abm-medien.de/filmbuero/festival.htm

Following are some information, details, and figures about our organisation "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Behinderung und Medien" (ABM, to be translated as Association for Disability and Media).

But first I think it is important to say a few words about how broadcasting and TV channels are organised in Germany, since the history and the structure of this system was crucial for the founding of ABM.

The early days

After 1945, television in the Federal Republic of Germany was reorganised under public control. Having in mind the experiences in the Third Reich, it was deemed important that television never again be a tool for propaganda; it should be neither governmental nor private, and, at least in the beginning, it should be decentralised, which meant: one public station in each state of the federation (or exceptionally: in two or three smaller states in cooperation).

Very soon, these stations began cooperation for a nationwide program, and in the 1960s a second broadcasting company was founded which, of course, was a public one, too. By the end of the '70s, opinions had changed in favor of adding private channels to promote and stimulate pluralism. Laws were changed, and in the beginning of the '80s the first private channels started. Since, we have had a so-called dual system of coexisting public and private channels.

The private channels were admonished to orient themselves by what was called "the public standard." In order to reach that aim, one of the rules was that they had to invite independent producers and organisations such as the main churches to be part of the program. And one of the groups that should be represented in these new private channels was people with disabilities.

Founding of Disability & Media Association

"Arbeitsgemeinschaft Behinderung und Medien" was founded in March 1983. It is an association with a membership of 15 major and minor disability organisations, self-help groups, and institutes working in the field of adult education. The aim is to present disability issues on German television from the point of view of disabled persons, of their relatives and their organisations.

ABM started its program in 1984 on a local level in Munich, in the beginning in co-operation with the public Bavarian Broadcasting Company "Bayerischer Rundfunk," but very soon gained a foothold with a local channel in Munich. Since 1989, ABM has been airing its 30-minute program, called NORMAL, weekly and nationwide, which was quite a step. But it was the first ever (and for some years, the only) regularly program on German TV which was dealing with all aspects of disability and disablement, and not only with one particular impairment. (There already existed a magazine for those with hearing impairments on Bavarian Television, for example.)

Since 1998, we have been producing the series Aus anderer Sicht ("From another point of view") for a public channel focusing on cultural and social issues, and which is run cooperatively by the public channels of Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Aus anderer Sicht is a monthly series of documentaries portraying persons with disabilities. Our youngest "child" is a series of reports under the title Challenge, which we are producing for private channel Kabel 1. It uses the 30-minute format to tackle different issues ranging from private subjects of everyday life to political issues.

Reviewing the numbers

Some numbers: first the ratings--always a crucial point, particularly for the private channels. Disability, especially when you are interested in an honest and authentic coverage, is not really a super-seller. Nonetheless, our weekly program NORMAL is reaching about 100,000 viewers every week, a market share of 0.6 %. Each airing of Aus anderer Sicht is reaching 50-100,000 viewers, and Challenge on channel Kabel 1 is reaching between 150,000 up to 400,000 viewers, which is a market share of 3 to 7 %.

When our commitments are added up, there is a total of 76 programs, each of them with a duration of 30 minutes, that we have to produce or co-produce every year. We are doing that with a budget of about 0.6 million US $, which is--to give you a standard of comparison--half of the average budget for an ordinary 90-minute TV whodunit. That means we have to cope with a very small budget but, nevertheless, in the 18 years since ABM has been established, we have produced almost 1000 documentaries, reports, and talks on disability issues. This is one of the most comprehensive video collections on disability in Europe.

Video library & film office created

Besides the TV production, ABM operates two more departments that I want to introduce very briefly. In 1987, ABM founded a video library for persons with hearing impairments. The collection includes about 250 fiction films, documentaries, educational films, and films for children, all of them with special subtitles. The films are on loan for private use, for educational purposes or for use in organisations.

The third department was founded in 1996 and is called the Film Office. It is responsible for the organisation of media projects such as, for example, the biennial Short Film Festival "The Way We Live" or the awareness project for school classes under the title "Objective." The Film Office is also intended to serve as a central contact and information agency. It provides several services such as:

international archives of films on the subject of disability (with viewing cassettes of about 2000 titles--not counting our own films),
a comprehensive database on the subject of "disability and the media" (with more than 3500 titles--also not counting our own films), which you can find in the internet, but only in a German version (sorry for that),
the organisation and promotion of film and video programs, media workshops and courses for schools, associations and institutes of adult education,
information in reply to all enquiries relating to the field of "disability and the media."

That is ABM, outlined very briefly.

What have we learned?

To close, I want to give you some key notes or some little ideas of what we have learned in these almost 20 years of TV production and programming. And some of what I am going to say now will sound rather banal:

You have to be professional. In the beginning, we certainly had a sort of bonus, a disability bonus. But you cannot rely on this bonus, and, of course, you should not: in the end this bonus is patronizing and discriminating. When you are dealing with disability issues in the media, in particular in TV, then you have to be aware of the fact that you enter into a competition, and that you have to keep up with your rivals. That means your product has to keep up, it has to be attractive for the public: it has to be well done, it has to have certain values such as information, education, entertainment.
You have to struggle for both: a special issue program for a specialised audience, which is kind of an "in-group communication" for people concerned. If you keep in mind that about 10% of the population is having an impairment and that these persons all have families and relatives, then we are still talking about a minority, but about a very, very big one which is definitely worthwhile to be addressed with subjects that they are particularly interested in.
But, in order to raise awareness, to fight clichés and preconceptions, you have to search for possibilities to be part of the programs for the so-called ordinary public. That means: besides the special issue programs you have to produce also programs that are--prospectively--interesting for everybody.
Sometimes you feel like David vs. Goliath, or like Sisyphus with his stone. When you have finished a very sensitive portrait of, let's say an artist with a psychic disease, and you have tried to examine very closely and very carefully all the aspects and facets of his or her life and work, and you wanted to give some insight into the complexitiy of such a life, and you know that maybe some thousand viewers have seen this portrait, presumably in its majority a special interest audience that already knows quite a lot... and the same evening a mainstream thriller is being aired with the typical type of a psychopathic killer who is running through a town, mowing down everything, butchering people, and you know that this film will be seen by some millions of viewers, who thus get the impression that a person with a psychic disease is sort of a time bomb on legs. Then you could fall into deep despair!

On the other hand, there is a growing number of mainstream cinema and TV production with quite an authentic view on disability, and a lot of mistakes aren't made any longer. When you are exploring the image of disability, the appearance of people with disabilities in today's mainstream program, then you will notice that quite a lot has improved in the last 10 or 20 years. And when I imagine that our work has contributed a tiny little bit to this improvement, then there is enough motivation to carry on.

More details on the Internet at www.abm-medien.de/tv.htm (German pages only)

Using films to promote disability awareness in schools

"Objective" is the most recent initiative of our organisation "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Behinderung und Medien" (abm--Association on Media and Disability). The project grew out of the experiences that we had with the screenings for school classes within the framework of our "Way We Live" Festival. From the very beginning of our Short Film Festival, it was our aim to address young people, too. And we wanted not only to show films to them, but also to bring them into direct contact with the film producers, and, of course, with people with disabilities. Actually, these screenings always have been very successful--they have been fully booked every year within a few days and we always had absolutely wonderful and lively discussions.

At the festivals some teachers asked us if it was possible for us to come to the schools, to screen the films there and to bring along our experts, and to make these screenings kind of a regular service. And, of course, this seemed to be a good idea.

A perfect tool for communication with young people

We are sure that film is a perfect tool for communication--in particular with children and young people. A film is always inviting you to identify yourself with at least one of the characters. Or to put it this way: when it comes to disability, you talk a lot about differences, but in a film you can easily show what is similar among all people, what they have in common, what joins us: our dreams, our definitions of happiness, our struggle for success, for a life worth living. And, very important: a film always addresses the spectator on an intellectual and also on an emotional level. And so after a film you can get into discussion very easily, and very easily you can come from analysing the film to talking about very personal and intimate subjects of everyday life.

Our idea of school-based education on disability by linking film screenings and live discussions was, apparently, quite convincing to many governmental and private partners. Never before we have had a project where it has been so easy to get the funds than it has been with "Objective."

We began in 1998 with a six-month pilot project on the European level in Belgium, in Tyrolia (Austria), and in Bavaria. After this pilot we established "Objective" as a regular and long-term service in Bavaria, where it has been running for five years now. Today, "Objective" is supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Social Affairs, by Bayerische Landes-medienzentrale (which is the umbrella organisation of the private television in Bavaria) and by a major disability organisation.

How the events of "Objective" are organised

We have a brochure with a list of films, a wide variety of films--from 3-minute cartoons to film classics, from short documentaries to feature films--films dealing with all sort of impairments and with different aspects or issues of disability. The films also address different levels of age and intellectual demands. We distribute this brochure to all the 5000 schools, colleges, and high schools in Bavaria and post it on the internet. The teachers can make their choices and contact us for booking. There is a wide range of possible types for the screenings. Sometimes our arrangement is just part of a lesson, sometimes we are arranging kind of a special event, and sometimes we are part of a so-called project day at a school which is dedicated to a particular subject. We are open for all proposals and requests. Basically, we arrive at the school not only with the film, but also with equipment for the screening and, the most crucial point, with our experts: people with disabilities--preferably young people--who are presenting the films, moderating the discussions, and answering the pupils' questions.

Crucial combination

This combination of showing a film and prompting a discussion is absolutely crucial for us. Because it is the moderator, a person with a disability, who embodies the reality of the film in the "real reality." For this reason we insist on this kind of event--and we do not just distribute or recommend films for classroom education. The presence of disabled persons and their contributions to the discussions provide a level of authenticity and credibility that a teacher or a film without any commentaries on it never would be able to provide.

It is important to say that "Objective" has an open concept; that means our events basically do not follow a fixed scheme or a certain "course of instruction." We do not want to pick up the pupils at a certain point and bring them to another; in our program they do not have to "learn" something in a narrow sense. It is more of a game of acting and reacting between the pupils and the moderator(s) than a course or an instruction. We just want the pupils to be open and to ask their questions. We work to create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect, and within this atmosphere every question (and, of course, every answer) is allowed. And thus, sometimes we are tackling details of the everyday life of a person with, let's say, hearing impairments, and sometimes we are leaving the issue of disability, in a concrete sense, and we are discussing ethical, social, or political subjects in a wider dimension.

Challenges to the moderators

I have to admit that our moderators have a really demanding job. Sometimes they are confronted with a class of very shy, very inhibited pupils (maybe the teacher has prepared them perfectly to be very careful and to make no mistake...) and nobody dares to say a word. And sometimes it is quite the opposite: Several times we have come into the classroom and. while I was preparing the video projection. the pupils got into a talk with our moderator, which we could not (and, of course, which we did not want to) stop. And so sometimes we end up leaving out the film which we had been booked for.

Or, I remember one day when we went to a school in the private car of one of our moderators. He is a wheelchair-user and so was driving an adapted car. We came into the schoolyard, he parked the car, went out and changed into his wheelchair. Soon we were surrounded by a group of pupils, especially boys, who were very interested in technical details and at once peppered us with questions about how it was possible for a wheelchair-user to drive a car, and about technical details. After a while we switched over to other subjects like sports, like partnership and housing etc. In the end, our equipment stayed in the car for the whole day, but we had a wonderful open-air workshop in the schoolyard.

More details on the internet at: www.abm-medien.de/objektiv/objektiv.htm (German only)