Who has not seen them – films about various training opportunities and degree programmes produced by the official career guidance service? It was rare in this context, however, to come across such high-quality productions as this information film about the rare craft of leather goods making. Nothing here recalls the dusty images of ordinary career promotion films: perfect lighting and professional 35mm stock, an enthusiastic staff, qualified training, pleasant workplaces and enjoyment of work rather suggest a made-for-cinema commercial.

Meike Weimann

An unembellished look at the inner workings of a fur-processing facility that neither advertises it nor suggests a safe workplace. The Zwenkau film studio, which had already lost the “FDJ” suffix in 1989, unsparingly captures the conditions that the employees of the VEB Edelpelz Leipzig-Schkeuditz were exposed to. These images need no commentary but are accompanied with haunting music.
Disclaimer: This documentary film contains neither images of fur farms nor of the slaughter, skinning or killing of animals.

Meike Weimann