In May 2024, the documentary world lost one of the leading chroniclers of German realities: Thomas Heise. After a commemoration last month at DOK Leipzig, DAFilms brings you a retrospective program of nine of Heise’s films.

“Archaeology is about digging. It’s like the work of moles, who live underground. A mole is virtually blind, but it has a nose and a feel for finding what it needs. And it has the patience to collect what it finds. It collects provisions to last through the winter.” Thomas Heise - Archaeology is about Digging

Thomas Heise’s documentary practice started in East Germany, uncovering the everyday realities of people and their interactions with state institutions. Even though his approach of honest curiosity led to him being expelled from the film school and his films being banned from public screenings, Heise persisted in such mole-like digging throughout his whole life.

Through documentary excavations of his Fatherland (historical opus Material), faraway lands (a jail in Mexico in Städtebewohner, indigenous communities in Argentina in Solar System), or even his own family (Mein Bruder. We'll Meet Again), Heise approached his filmmaking practice with a patient, Wiseman-like attention to details, always observant of how institutions of power shape people’s daily lives. With his films looking beneath the surface, Heise was able to find and collect testimonies capturing moments in history with precision and deep understanding, such as the Pope’s visit to Germany in Condition or young people’s lives in Lucky (Niggers) and Children. As Time Flies.