Film Archive

Land (Film Archive)

Matinee Saxon State Archive 2025

People and Books

Hans Cürlis
Telling stories without being able to use language. A silent homage to reading with expressive images. Young, old, poor, rich – everyone is transported to other worlds.
Filmstill Menschen und Bücher
Filmstill Menschen und Bücher

People and Books

Menschen und Bücher
Hans Cürlis
Matinee Saxon State Archive 2025
Documentary Film
Germany
1929
2 minutes
without dialogue
Subtitles: 
None
In 1929, the German Book Traders’ Association declared 22 March, the anniversary of Goethe’s death, the “Day of the Book”. To boost general awareness of the date, the politically versatile educational filmmaker Hans Cürlis was commissioned to produce this silent signature spot. Through cross-fades, the imagined worlds of a variety of readers – young or old, workers or intellectuals – merge with the stylised realities of their lives.
Thekla Kluttig, Meike Weimann

Credits DOK Leipzig Logo

Director
Hans Cürlis
Producer
Institut für Kulturforschung