In memory of Alexander Kluge

Alexander Kluge (1932–2026) was one of the founders of the “Film” department at the Ulm School of Design in 1962. He headed the department together with Edgar Reitz, Bernhard Dörries, and Detten Schleiermacher. All four were initiators of the Oberhausen Manifesto, a declaration drafted in 1962 calling for the renewal of German cinema. In addition to drawing on the “Critical Theory” of the “Frankfurt School” founded by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, the auteur model of the “Nouvelle Vague” served as a model. Film should enlighten, not create illusions. The director is both creator and producer.

During his years in Ulm, Alexander Kluge directed the feature film “Abschied von gestern” (Farewell to Yesterday), which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 1966 and won the Silver Lion there.

The “Film” department, founded in 1962, became independent in 1965 as the Institut für Filmgestaltung e.V. (IfG). In this form, the IfG survived the abrupt closure of the Ulm School of Design in 1968 and continued to exist until 2016.

Alexander Kluge and Klaus Eder published a comprehensive account of film at the Ulm School of Design under the title “Ulmer Dramaturgien: Reibungsverluste. Stichwort: Bestandaufnahme” (Munich 1985).