Edgar Reitz Reunites Former Students for Documentary 'Filmstunde_23'

German filmmaker Edgar Reitz, 93, has completed a new documentary titled 'Filmstunde_23', revisiting a 1968 film education experiment with 13-14-year-old girls from Luisengymnasium in Munich. The project originated when a former student, Ingrid, recognized Reitz and reminded him of their shared past. Reitz and co-director Jorg Adolph reunited the now-elderly women 55 years later to reflect on the original black-and-white footage. The film juxtaposes archival material with contemporary reunion scenes, exploring how cinema shaped their lives. Reitz, a signatory of the 1962 Oberhausen Manifesto and creator of the 'Heimat' trilogy, had taught basic film language, camera movements, and editing, encouraging students to create Super8 films on topics like a brother's football training or family farm life. The 1968 experiment was rooted in the belief that cinema deserved a place in school curricula, inspired by Béla Balázs's quote on film education. Despite lacking political support, Reitz preserved all student films for 55 years. 'Filmstunde_23' premiered at the Berlinale in February 2025, where Reitz received the Berlinale Camera Award, and later screened at the Sotto18 Film Festival in Turin. Reitz is now working on a new project about philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.