AT THE BACK OF BEYOND: HEIMAT EAST

The depiction of the east as a geographically remote and culturally stunted region, a ruined Heimat located at the edge of German culture and civilization, has proved to be an enduring one in post-unification films. This is not to say that the regional film boards were keen to continue financing the depressing representations of the east that characterized the films discussed in the previous chapters. While several of those films earned their directors critical kudos from international film festival panels, critics and film scholars, they did not fare well at the box-office. Inclusion on university syllabi may have assured some