Abstract
At different points in time, Harun Farocki returned to dffb (Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin) – the institution he had been compelled to leave in 1968 without a diploma – to teach courses on film theory and film history. Based on archival research and conversations with former students, including Christian Petzold, this article investigates the specificities of Farocki’s pedagogy. Focusing on three periods (around 1970, 1980, and 1990), Pantenburg argues for the intimate relation between Farocki’s filmmaking practice and his pedagogical engagement. Three main aspects are highlighted: (1) Farocki’s early interest in educational film; (2) the concept of teaching as collective production (instead of distribution); (3) the essential back and forth between film projection and close examination at the editing table. The didactic impulse in Farocki’s work – an aspect often remarked upon and sometimes objected to – is recognized as an inherent part of Farocki’s political and aesthetic agenda.
Pantenburg, Volker