Ciné and UGA Commemorate the Fall of the Berlin Wall

On Nov. 9, people around the world remembered the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. The 20^th anniversary of this significant event in history brought together some of the world’s most powerful leaders to recognize the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe. In Germany, memorial services, speeches, and events commemorated the fall of the Berlin Wall. To symbolize the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1,000 dominoes along a mile route were knocked over as a finale to its 20^th anniversary.

In Athens, the fall of the Berlin Wall was not forgotten either. Ciné hosted a film festival with the UGA Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies called, Wendekino: Cinema of Political Transformation: The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Revolutions of 1989 in German and Eastern European Film. The festival included foreign films, “Kolya”, “Winter Adé”, “Berlin is in Germany”, “12:08 East of Bucharest”, “The Legend of Rita”, and “Silent Country.” An art exhibit, Halt! Hier Grenze- Stop Here! Border, featuring photographs of 1985 Germany accompanied the commemorative film festival as well. These unique photographs and notes were taken by Christof Rieken and Martin Kagel when they explored and observed the divided German border in 1985.

No matter where or how the fall of the Berlin Wall was celebrated, German President Horst Koehler puts it best, "Looking back, we can see many causes that led to the peaceful revolution, but it still remains a miracle.”