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Film

Why Berlin is a good choice for 'Homeland'

Many of cinema's greatest names worked in the legendary Babelsberg film studios, located just outside Berlin. This year, the US TV series "Homeland" will be filmed there, too.

  • Filmstill Homeland Schauspielerin Carrie Mathison

    Studio with tradition

    The fifth season of the US television series "Homeland" will be filmed in Germany, as agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) moves from Kabul to Berlin. Starring along with her is Germany's own intelligence agency. Obviously, the production's base will not be the Federal Intelligence Service's huge offices, but the Babelsberg Film Studios - the oldest large-scale film studio complex in the world.

  • Babelsberg Gläsernes Filmatelier

    The birth of a film studio

    While independent US producers were already establishing their studios in Hollywood, German filmmakers were shooting in the center of Berlin. Because the hot spotlights kept triggering fire alarms, they were asked to find a more remote location. Film pioneer Guido Seeber picked new premises in Potsdam-Babelsberg, at the southwest outskirts of Berlin, where a first studio was built in 1911.

  • Asta Nielsen

    First film: 'The Dance of the Dead'

    Within just three months, the company Bioscop built a 300 square-meter (about 3,250 square foot) film studio, called the Small Glasshouse. The first production wouldn't wait: The Danish silent movie "The Dance of the Dead," starring Asta Nielsen, was filmed there in February 1912. A year later, a second studio and a film lab were built on the site.

  • Filmszene Der letzte Mann - Regie Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

    Pioneers of technology

    In 1922, the German film production company UFA joined in. New techniques were developed: Wilhelm Murnau used a moving camera for the first time in the film "The Last Laugh" (starring Emil Jannings, pictured here). Hollywood directors came to Babelsberg to learn the newest tricks of the trade. Hitchcock would even later say, "Everything I had to know about filmmaking I learned in Babelsberg."

  • Stummfilm Metropolis von Fritz Lang Flash-Galerie

    Film classic: 'Metropolis'

    Fritz Lang spent two years working in Babelsberg on his visionary sci-fi epic "Metropolis" (1927), a masterpiece of silent cinema. With production costs estimated at five million Reichsmarks, it was at the time the most expensive film ever made. The futuristic urban dystopia would establish itself as one of the most influential movies of all times.

  • Filmszene Der blaue Engel mit Marlene Dietrich

    Marlene Dietrich, the film icon

    Many stars launched their international careers in Babelsberg, but Germany's most successful film export was without a doubt Marlene Dietrich. The 29-year-old actress had her big break in 1930 with Joseph Sternberg's classic, "The Blue Angel," filmed in both an English and a German version. It was Germany's first major sound film, produced in the brand new studio, Tonkreuz.

  • Film im Nationalsozialismus TRIUMPH DES WILLENS Flash-Galerie

    The propaganda machine

    After the Nazis seized power, all Babelsberg productions were under state control. About 1,000 films were produced from 1933 to 1945 under the direction of Hitler's propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. Virulent propaganda films were among the lot, such as Veit Harlan's anti-Semitic "Jud Süss" (The Jew Süss) or Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," chronicling the 1934 Nazi Party Congress.

  • Filmstill Die Mörder Sind Unter mit Schauspielerin Hildegard Knef

    Rubble films

    The first post-war German film was Wolfgang Staudte's "Die Mörder sind unter uns," (1946) known as "Murderers Among Us" in its US version. The film, which launched Hildegard Knef's career, is a reflection on personal guilt and responsibility under Nazi rule. The film was shot in the ruins of Berlin. Critics abroad thought the rubble scenery was a particularly well-built film set.

  • Nackt unter Wölfen Armin Müller-Stahl 1963

    Socialist realism

    The Babelsberg Studios were in the Soviet zone of occupation. The state-owned film company DEFA started filming there in 1947, producing over 700 feature films throughout the history of East Germany. Among the socialist propaganda works, some gained international acclaim, such as Frank Beyer's "Naked Among Wolves" (1963) with Armin Müller-Stahl impersonating a concentration camp inmate.

  • Filmstudios Babelsberg

    After the fall of the Wall

    In 1989, DEFA was acquired by the trust which was responsible for privatizing East German state enterprises. The studios were then sold to the French company Vivendi Universal in 1992, which further invested around 500 million euros (about $550 million) in renovation. This typical Berlin street is a film set built for the comedy about East Berlin in the 1970s, "Sonnenallee."

  • Bildergalerie Roman Polanski 80. Geburtstag (Film: Der Painist)

    Polanski's 'The Pianist'

    Film producers Carl Woebken and Christoph Fisser bought the company in 2004. With 25,000 square meters of space and 16 studios, Babelsberg is Europe's largest film studio complex. Roman Polanski filmed the World War II drama "The Pianist" here in 2002, with Adrien Brody in the lead role.

  • Bernhard Schlink Filmstill aus Der Vorleser

    Hollywood in Babelsberg

    Many Americans are now filming in Babelsberg. These international productions bring a touch of Hollywood glamour to Potsdam. British actress Kate Winslet was here in 2007 for the film "The Reader," the story of a teenager who has an affair with an older woman, and learns years later that she worked as a guard in a concentration camp.

  • Brad Pitt Inglourious Basterds Filmstill

    'Inglourious Basterds'

    Quentin Tarantino, the director of cult films "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" also came to Babelsberg in 2009. The black comedy "Inglourious Basterds" depicts a fictional failed attempt to assassinate Nazi leadership during World War II. It starred, among others, Brad Pitt (pictured) and Christopher Waltz.

  • Jennifer Lawrence als Katniss in Tribute von Panem

    'The Hunger Games'

    Over 2,000 extras were needed and gigantic film sets were built for the fourth and third part of the global hit series, "The Hunger Games," filmed in Potsdam and Berlin. Pictured here: Jennifer Lawrence, who portrayed Katniss Everdeen. Berliners might be used to seeing film crews in their City, but they still love to catch a glimpse of their favorite Hollywood stars.

  • Filmstill Homeland Schauspielerin Carrie Mathison

    Up close with Carrie

    Those who want to become part of the next season of "Homeland" and Carrie Mathison's latest compulsive stunts should head off to Babelsberg studios, as extras are being casted for the production. It is the first US series to film an entire season in Germany. The shoot is set to begin in June.


  • Filmstill Homeland Schauspielerin Carrie Mathison

    Studio with tradition

    The fifth season of the US television series "Homeland" will be filmed in Germany, as agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) moves from Kabul to Berlin. Starring along with her is Germany's own intelligence agency. Obviously, the production's base will not be the Federal Intelligence Service's huge offices, but the Babelsberg Film Studios - the oldest large-scale film studio complex in the world.

  • Babelsberg Gläsernes Filmatelier

    The birth of a film studio

    While independent US producers were already establishing their studios in Hollywood, German filmmakers were shooting in the center of Berlin. Because the hot spotlights kept triggering fire alarms, they were asked to find a more remote location. Film pioneer Guido Seeber picked new premises in Potsdam-Babelsberg, at the southwest outskirts of Berlin, where a first studio was built in 1911.

  • Asta Nielsen

    First film: 'The Dance of the Dead'

    Within just three months, the company Bioscop built a 300 square-meter (about 3,250 square foot) film studio, called the Small Glasshouse. The first production wouldn't wait: The Danish silent movie "The Dance of the Dead," starring Asta Nielsen, was filmed there in February 1912. A year later, a second studio and a film lab were built on the site.

  • Filmszene Der letzte Mann - Regie Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

    Pioneers of technology

    In 1922, the German film production company UFA joined in. New techniques were developed: Wilhelm Murnau used a moving camera for the first time in the film "The Last Laugh" (starring Emil Jannings, pictured here). Hollywood directors came to Babelsberg to learn the newest tricks of the trade. Hitchcock would even later say, "Everything I had to know about filmmaking I learned in Babelsberg."

  • Stummfilm Metropolis von Fritz Lang Flash-Galerie

    Film classic: 'Metropolis'

    Fritz Lang spent two years working in Babelsberg on his visionary sci-fi epic "Metropolis" (1927), a masterpiece of silent cinema. With production costs estimated at five million Reichsmarks, it was at the time the most expensive film ever made. The futuristic urban dystopia would establish itself as one of the most influential movies of all times.

  • Filmszene Der blaue Engel mit Marlene Dietrich

    Marlene Dietrich, the film icon

    Many stars launched their international careers in Babelsberg, but Germany's most successful film export was without a doubt Marlene Dietrich. The 29-year-old actress had her big break in 1930 with Joseph Sternberg's classic, "The Blue Angel," filmed in both an English and a German version. It was Germany's first major sound film, produced in the brand new studio, Tonkreuz.

  • Film im Nationalsozialismus TRIUMPH DES WILLENS Flash-Galerie

    The propaganda machine

    After the Nazis seized power, all Babelsberg productions were under state control. About 1,000 films were produced from 1933 to 1945 under the direction of Hitler's propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. Virulent propaganda films were among the lot, such as Veit Harlan's anti-Semitic "Jud Süss" (The Jew Süss) or Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," chronicling the 1934 Nazi Party Congress.

  • Filmstill Die Mörder Sind Unter mit Schauspielerin Hildegard Knef

    Rubble films

    The first post-war German film was Wolfgang Staudte's "Die Mörder sind unter uns," (1946) known as "Murderers Among Us" in its US version. The film, which launched Hildegard Knef's career, is a reflection on personal guilt and responsibility under Nazi rule. The film was shot in the ruins of Berlin. Critics abroad thought the rubble scenery was a particularly well-built film set.

  • Nackt unter Wölfen Armin Müller-Stahl 1963

    Socialist realism

    The Babelsberg Studios were in the Soviet zone of occupation. The state-owned film company DEFA started filming there in 1947, producing over 700 feature films throughout the history of East Germany. Among the socialist propaganda works, some gained international acclaim, such as Frank Beyer's "Naked Among Wolves" (1963) with Armin Müller-Stahl impersonating a concentration camp inmate.

  • Filmstudios Babelsberg

    After the fall of the Wall

    In 1989, DEFA was acquired by the trust which was responsible for privatizing East German state enterprises. The studios were then sold to the French company Vivendi Universal in 1992, which further invested around 500 million euros (about $550 million) in renovation. This typical Berlin street is a film set built for the comedy about East Berlin in the 1970s, "Sonnenallee."

  • Bildergalerie Roman Polanski 80. Geburtstag (Film: Der Painist)

    Polanski's 'The Pianist'

    Film producers Carl Woebken and Christoph Fisser bought the company in 2004. With 25,000 square meters of space and 16 studios, Babelsberg is Europe's largest film studio complex. Roman Polanski filmed the World War II drama "The Pianist" here in 2002, with Adrien Brody in the lead role.

  • Bernhard Schlink Filmstill aus Der Vorleser

    Hollywood in Babelsberg

    Many Americans are now filming in Babelsberg. These international productions bring a touch of Hollywood glamour to Potsdam. British actress Kate Winslet was here in 2007 for the film "The Reader," the story of a teenager who has an affair with an older woman, and learns years later that she worked as a guard in a concentration camp.

  • Brad Pitt Inglourious Basterds Filmstill

    'Inglourious Basterds'

    Quentin Tarantino, the director of cult films "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill" also came to Babelsberg in 2009. The black comedy "Inglourious Basterds" depicts a fictional failed attempt to assassinate Nazi leadership during World War II. It starred, among others, Brad Pitt (pictured) and Christopher Waltz.

  • Jennifer Lawrence als Katniss in Tribute von Panem

    'The Hunger Games'

    Over 2,000 extras were needed and gigantic film sets were built for the fourth and third part of the global hit series, "The Hunger Games," filmed in Potsdam and Berlin. Pictured here: Jennifer Lawrence, who portrayed Katniss Everdeen. Berliners might be used to seeing film crews in their City, but they still love to catch a glimpse of their favorite Hollywood stars.

  • Filmstill Homeland Schauspielerin Carrie Mathison

    Up close with Carrie

    Those who want to become part of the next season of "Homeland" and Carrie Mathison's latest compulsive stunts should head off to Babelsberg studios, as extras are being casted for the production. It is the first US series to film an entire season in Germany. The shoot is set to begin in June.


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