DEFA Indianerfilm

DEFA Indianerfilme ("DEFA Indian films") was a series of adventure and western films ("Red Westerns") produced by the GDR DEFA film studio. The name comes from the obsolete term "Indians" for Indigenous peoples of the Americas.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Gojko Mitić, at the Summer FIlm Days, 1971

Between 1966 and 1983 DEFA produced 14 films of this type, about the resistance of Native Americans against white invaders.^[6] A memorable actor in the series was Yugoslavian (Serbian) actor Gojko Mitić portraying fictional Native Americans ("Indians"), "Winnetou of the East", who played in 12 of these films.^[5]

The films are searchable in the PROGRESS film database.^[7]

Films

Below are the 14 Indianerfilme and a parody.

DEFA division "Roter Kreis"

• 1966: The Sons of Great Bear, based on the novel The Sons of the Great Bear
• 1967: Chingachgook, The Great Serpent
• 1968: Spur des Falken, Trail of the Falcon
• 1969: Weiße Wölfe, White Wolves
• 1970: Tödlicher Irrtum, Fatal error
• 1971: Osceola
• 1972: Tecumseh
• 1973: Apachen, Apaches
• 1974: Ulzana
• 1975: Blood Brothers
• 1978: Severino

DEFA division "Johannisthal"

• 1979: Blauvogel, Bluebird
• 1983: Der Scout. The Scout
• 1985: Atkins

DEFA division "Berlin"

• 1982: de:Der lange Ritt zur Schule, children's comedy, parodying Indianerfilme

Other "Red Western" films of DEFA

• 1981: de:Sing, Cowboy, sing, a comedy Western
• 1988: de:Präriejäger in Mexiko [Prairie Hunters in Mexico] two-series TV film

See also

• Native Americans in German popular culture