Movies on the Mind

May 6, 2006 marks the 150th anniversary of Sigmund Freud's birth. In commemoration, the German Cinematic Foundation explored the relationship between film and works published by the father of psychoanalysis. In terms of both content and structure, film artists have always been consciously aware of this connection between psychological processes and "moving pictures". Throughout its 100-year international history, cinema has provided countless examples of psychological phenomena which Freud himself investigated - dreams, delirium, suppression and scopophilia, to name a few. A film series was embedded into a cultural-historic exhibition highlighting the relationship between psychology and film. The exhibition addressed questions regarding the aesthetics of reception and production from the perspective of film studies, psychology and neurophysiology. Why do we cry when watching movies? Which film clips give us a particular thrill? To what extent are dreams and films alike? The important exhibits in this exhibition at the Berlin Filmhaus have been courteously provided by the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna and the Freud Museum in London.

Curators: Kristina Jaspers, Wolf Unterberger
Partners: Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna, Freud Museum in London

Schedule and venue:
13 Sep. 2006 - 25 Feb. 2007 Filmmuseum Berlin, Kino Arsenal
15 June - 16 Sept. 2007 Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science Los Angeles
26 Apr. - 26 Oct. 2008 Filmgalerie Krems, Austria
20 Dec. 2008 - 15 March 2009 Hongkong Filmarchive, Hongkong