The film Coming Out is the only official film about homosexuality to have been produced in the German Democratic Republic (former East Germany) by the former state-owned film studio DEFA.
It premiered on November 9, 1989, the very same evening of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Despite the years that have passed since its premiere, its subject matter remains relevant.
The Goethe-Institut Cyprus and Queer Wave, with the support of STYX Film Encounters will screen ‘Coming Out’ by Heiner Carow on the 36th anniversary of the film’s premiere this Sunday November 9, at 17:30 at Pantheon in Nicosia.
At the screening a discussion between Diego Aparicio (Queer Wave) and Andreas Karayan will take place. Andreas Karayan, an awarded Cypriot painter and author, was not only an eyewitness of the fall of the Berlin Wall, but he had also interviewed the film director Heiner Carow.
Coming Out is a poignant film that explores themes of identity and self-acceptance against the backdrop of a changing societal landscape. The story centers on a teacher who begins to confront his sexuality and the realities of his relationships, as he struggles with personal and societal conflicts. A film with a sensitive portrayal of love and friendship, it shows a personal journey, and a reflection of the struggles faced by members of the LGBTQI+ communities during that time.
Because the premiere of the film coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall, initially the film received no attention. It later toured festivals around the world and won a Teddy Award and a Silver Bear at the 1990 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
Heiner Carow (1929-1997) is considered one of the most important film directors of DEFA. In his works he dealt with everyday life issues in the German Democratic Republic, which provoked and caused discussions. One of his works was censored and could only be shown nearly twenty years later.
Since 2013, the DEFA Foundation has been awarding a German feature or documentary film with the Heiner Carow Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). Previous winners of the Heiner Carow Prize include Ivo Trobisch with her film Ivo in 2024, which was screened by the Goethe-Institut Cyprus as part of Berlinale Selection 2025, and Fabian Stumm with his film Knochen und Namen (Bones and Names) in 2023, which was available for streaming through the 2025 curated programme “Lots of Love” on Goethe-on-Demand. As part of the same streaming programme, for the month of November 2025 an earlier work by Heiner Carow, The Legend of Paul and Paula, is available to be streamed.
DATE: November 9, 2025, 17:30
PLACE: Pantheon, Diagorou 29, Nicosia
LANGUAGE: Original dialogue with English subtitles. Discussions in English.
ADMISSION: Free Admission.
INFORMATION: +357 22 674606, kultur-nikosia@goethe.de, www.goethe.de/cyprus