Drawing on the life of Eberhardt Brucks (1917–2008), the experimental documentary Unarchiving Gay Desire builds on analog film footage originally shot on Standard 8, a selection of audio tapes, and the archived correspondence between Brucks and his partner Hans Pählke. The combination of these archival materials held at the archive of Schwules Museum, Berlin, offers a perspective on the past that seeks to challenge established narratives about the history of gay oppression and emancipation, enabling a different way of thinking about current debates on identity.

Archives: The archive of Schwules Musem Berlin holds the estate of the largely unknown artist Eberhardt Brucks (1917–2008). This collection is the largest biographical estate in the archive. It comprises 15.000  individual items and bundles. The film will be based on 41 exposed film reels (Standard  8), photos in medium and 35mm formats, 50 letters Brucks exchanged with his partner  Hans Pählke, audio tapes on which their voices can be heard, as well as other  materials such as notes, postcards, tickets, etc.

Simon Dickel

 Dr. phil., is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the Department of English and American Studies, University of Potsdam, Germany. Among his film-related publications is the co-edited book Queer Cinema (Ventil 2018). His short films have been selected for DokLeipzig, Hamburg Short Film Festival, Filmfest Dresden, Kasseler Dokfest, Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Iris Prize Cardiff, UnArchive Found Footage Fest, among others.

Schwules Musem