The Schwules Museum honors the greatest German post-war film director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder (born May, 31, 1945) who died 20 years ago, on June, 10, 1982.

Fassbinder remains unequalled in shaping the image of German film abroad. Within only a few years he created a vast film cosmos and we selected a range of photos and posters, which incidentally also show his homosexuality.

The display consists of a spatial installation with 52 personalities making a statement on Fassbinder: his mother, close friends, colleagues, actors and actresses, critics and producers. We show pictures of Fassbinder’s childhood, his lovers, his women and his amazing power at work. There will be art work by Ursula Strätz and drawings from Jurgen Draeger’s Querelle cycle. Visitors may (and must) draw their own conclusions about Fassbinder.

The flood of images will be complemented by excerpts from his movies, highlighting the way he presented his lovers. Fassbinder’s portraits of women are another aspect shown here. For, as Gottfried John once remarked, Fassbinder always “was” his female lead – a beautiful woman. This is where he tells his very own story.

Loans were kindly provided by the Fassbinder Foundation Berlin – New York, the German Cinema Foundation/Berlin Film Museum, Dusseldorf Film Museum, Berlin Archive for Art and History and by individual collectors.

Curator: Wolfgang Theis