Film and Archive:
The Seitz Filmproduktion company

Founded in 1956 by Franz Seitz (1921-2006), the Franz Seitz Filmproduktion company has always made a significant contribution to German film history. The DFF holds parts of the company’s archive. Franz Seitz began producing his first feature films in 1952 under the Ariston-Film GmbH, which became his own company four years later. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the company focused mainly on entertainment films such as “BEI DER BLONDEN KATHREIN” (DE 1959, dir. Hans Quest), alongside a few artistically ambitious and political films such as Rosselini’s “LA PAURA” (IT/DE 1954). Despite the challenges of the post-war period and the German economic miracle, Franz Seitz managed to produce more than 80 films, write 40 scripts and direct eleven of them. In particular, he played a key role in major literary adaptations such as Volker Schlöndorff’s “DIE BLECHTROMMEL” (THE TIN DRUM, DE/FR 1979), which won prestigious awards such as the Palme d’Or and an Oscar®. Other successes include the adaptation of Ludwig Thoma’s “LAUSBUBENGESCHICHTEN” (DE 1964, dir. Helmut Käutner) and the subsequent school film series “DIE LÜMMEL VON DER ERSTEN BANK” (DE 1967-1972), both scripted by Franz Seitz. Today, Seitz GmbH Filmproduktion is still a family-owned company, run by Franz Seitz’s son, Peter Seitz.

In “DU KANNST MICH FRAGEN WAS DU WILLST” Anni Seitz, granddaughter of Franz Seitz, explores the life and work of her grandfather.