This publication is featured on PiE in conjunction with the exhibition “Films Like Never Before. Alfred Ehrhardt – Bauhaus Artist and Filmmaker” at the Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation in Berlin.
This large-format illustrated book is the first comprehensive publication on the film work of Alfred Ehrhardt (1901–1984), one of the most innovative filmmakers of the Bauhaus tradition, a master of experimental nature and documentary film, and a true polymath (organist, choirmaster, educational reformer, painter, photographer, and documentary filmmaker).
The interplay between photography and film, and Ehrhardt’s formative experiences at the Bauhaus in Dessau, are the focus of this study by Hamburg-based film scholar Thomas Tode. The book is richly illustrated with excerpts from films recently restored as part of the digitization of Germany’s film heritage, including Ehrhardt’s debut film about the Wadden Sea, rediscovered in 2025. Film strips, photographs, production documents, and editing scores reveal a master of artistic documentary film who turned to photography and film after being dismissed from his teaching position at the Hamburg State School of Art by the National Socialists. Ehrhardt received numerous national and international awards for his cinematic oeuvre, including four German Film Awards.
Author Thomas Tode is a publicist, film scholar, and curator. His publications include “bauhaus & film” (2012) and the DVD series “Edition Bauhaus.” He has organized conferences on the topic of “Bauhaus and Film” and curated the exhibitions “Bauhaus in Action” (Bauhaus Foundation Dessau 2009, São Paulo 2013, Santiago de Chile 2014) and “bauhaus.film.expanded” (ZKM Karlsruhe 2020).
