The Words of the Chairman main poster

The Words of the Chairman

Visit website

4.9/10 • 6

1967-06-260h 3m

I was on a ship – this sounds like a novel: I had just embarked for Venezuela on June 2, 1967 as the Shah of Iran was arriving in West Berlin. There were protests, a student was shot, and a new form of opposition movement came into existence. The idea for this film came to me while I was still aboard the ship. The film is structured like a commercial. The film takes a metaphor literally: words can become weapons. However, it also shows that these weapons are made of paper. The weapon spoiled everything for the Shah and his wife, they are wearing paper bags on their heads with faces drawn on them – the kind of bags worn by Iranian students during demonstrations to hide their identity from the Savak, the Iranian Secret Service. When I showed this film to the audiences in the late 60s, it was highly praised. I think people understood then that over obviousness is also a form of irony. This capacity was lost a few years later. I think it's coming back today. –HF

Directors
Harun Farocki
Writters
Harun Farocki

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Ursula Lefkes

    Ursula Lefkes

  2. Otto Schily

    Otto Schily

Reviews0

We don't have any reviews for The Words of the Chairman.

Media

    Recommendations

    • No Backdrop

      Aufstellung

      10

    • No Backdrop

      Object: Alimony

      6.0

    • Kill Shot main backdrop

      Kill Shot

      9.2

    • No Backdrop

      Little Pond in Main Street

      5.3

    • Raid On the Reactor main backdrop

      Raid On the Reactor

      7.3

    • The Return of Superfly main backdrop

      The Return of Superfly

      5.7

    • Road of No Return main backdrop

      Road of No Return

      5.9

    • No Backdrop

      Return Return Return

      6.2

    • No Backdrop

      Pascal Sellem - Les caméras cachées des 7 péchés capitaux

      4.5

    • Homecoming main backdrop

      Homecoming

      6.8

    • Return of the Killer Shrews main backdrop

      Return of the Killer Shrews

      5.4

    • No Backdrop

      Nimirndhu Nil

      7.1

    • No Backdrop

      Fight club camp kusse

      8.4

    • Twilight on the Trail main backdrop

      Twilight on the Trail

      5.0

    • I Am The King main backdrop

      I Am The King

      6.4

    • No Backdrop

      Krampus: The Return

      6.7

    • Dave Matthews Band: Weekend On The Rocks main backdrop

      Dave Matthews Band: Weekend On The Rocks

      4.8

    • No Backdrop

      Fight Club Rush 11

      8.8

    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    German
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
    --
    Keywords
    short film