Obituary for Rosa von Praunheim

Rosa,

You always went all in – in your films, in your themes, in your life.

Already at the 3rd Hof International Film Festival in 1969 (HIFF), you became part of the HoF family with your short film ROSA ARBEITER AUF DER GOLDENEN STRAßE II. TEIL („Pink Workers on a Golden Street Part II“). From that moment on, you continually shaped, challenged, and enriched the HIFF – as a regular guest, as a visionary, and as an unstoppable force of inspiration. So many unforgettable moments connect us to you; here, we remember just a few.

You were a German film and theater director, producer, writer, and professor of directing. You were an activist, a public trailblazer, and a co-founder of the LGBTQIA+ movement in Germany. You gave visibility where there had been silence, and you never shied away from provocation – because it was necessary. But above all, you were deeply human.

With WAS DIE RECHTE NICHT SIEHT („What the Right doesn’t see“) at the 6th HIFF, you demonstrated once again that your cinema carried conviction – and demanded conviction. OUR CORPSES ARE STILL ALIVE, shown at the 15th HIFF in 1981, was a courageous and painful act of remembrance, a call to witness and to care.

With  AFFENGEIL about Lotti Huber at the 24th HIFF in 1990, you celebrated an extraordinary woman – with love, irreverence, and profound humanity.

In 2012, for your 70th birthday, you gave the 46th HIFF a gift of lasting significance:

70 short films by Rosa von Praunheim. In the same year, Julia von Heinz, Chris Kraus, Axel Ranisch, Tom Tykwer, and Robert Thalheim honored you with the documentary ROSA KINDER – a declaration of love, a testament to your unwavering support, your care, your closeness, and your boundless solidarity.

Your musical tribute at the 2021 Award of the City of Hof ceremony for Julia von Heinz remains unforgettable – surprising, heartfelt, humorous, and deeply moving all at once.

Most recently, in 2024, you returned to us with 30 YERS WITH THE WHIP (58. HIFF). Dietrich Kuhlbrodt, who had long wished to be interviewed by you, also attended that year – and in our Club Talk „Excessive Inspiration“, the moment came. You stepped into the role of the interviewer, leading a wild, expansive, intelligent, and exuberantly energetic conversation that captured your life’s breadth and intensity.

Your commitment to the queer community was not always uncontroversial – and that was precisely why it mattered. You educated, provoked, and created “normality” where there had been exclusion. You understood cinema as a space of freedom – and you constantly reminded us what it can and should be.

We laughed with you.
We cried with you.
We argued and learned with you.

You are – and will remain – an inspiration to us all.

Rosa,
rest in peace.

Your Hof International Film Festival Team