Ulrich and Erika Gregor
Ulrich and Erika Gregor - long-time programmers for the Arsenal cinema in Berlin and the International Forum of the Berlinale - define their cinematic beliefs:
'We believe in the independent and experimental cinema in the widest sense, in a cinema which explores the human condition and the nature of society, which develops a critical spirit and contributes to the evolution of visual expression and filmic language. We believe in a cinema which is the personal expression of an author and which does not submit to commercial pressures. We have tried in our work as programmers to sustain and promote this kind of cinema.'
Ulrich and Erika Gregor co-founded the Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek (Friends of the German Cinematheque) in 1963, publishing the monograph series Kinemathek since that time. They have been central to the founding (in 1970), running and programming of Berlin's Arsenal cinema, as well as publishing books and catalogues.
Erika Gregor studied German and English literature, History and Philosophy in Göttingen, London, Munich and Berlin. A member of the selection committee for the Internationales Forum des Jungen Films (International Forum of New Cinema) at the Berlin Film Festival, 1971 to 2004. Festival organiser and coordinator, member of festival juries and film funding commissions. Curator of retrospectives, national and thematic film programmes ('Stations of modernism', 'Jewish Lifestyles', 'Japan and Europe', 'Moscow-Berlin', 'German Images') in the 1980s and 1990s.
Ulrich Gregor studied Film and Literature in Hamburg, Paris and Berlin. A film critic for newspapers, magazines, radio and TV since 1955. From 1966 to 1972 - and again since 2006 - lecturer in Film History at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie, Berlin. Author of History of the Cinema (jointly with Enno Patalas, 1962) and History of Cinema since 1960 (1978). Director of the Internationales Forum des Jungen Films (International Forum of New Cinema) at the Berlin Film Festival, 1971 to 2001 - a showcase of independent and experimental cinema established after the crisis at the Berlinale in 1970. Curator of retrospectives and festival catalogues. Responsible for the film series 'Magical History Tour - History of Cinema in 365 Films' (screening one film each day) at the Arsenal.
September 2010
