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CUCKOO
CINEMA On the Death of the Filmmaker George Moorse by FRITZ
GÖTTLER
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THEMISTOCLES
HOETIS
George Moorse, born May 1st
1936 in Bellmore, New York, was a young American poet who
became an American expatriate in Munich, Germany in 1959.
His mother was born in Riga, Latvia and his father born in
London. He was the nephew of Ethel Rosenberg, executed in
America with her husband Julius in 1950, as Russian
spies.
Moorse kick-started the entire
post-WW2 German film making MOVEMENT in 1964 with his
first non-mainstream short movie Inside Out. He made a
second short film London Pop, that same summer in
London. This was followed by his first feature, Zero in
the Universe, made in Amsterdam. He subsequently made a
dozen or more films - mostly approached from a poet's
perspective - that have been widely acclaimed in art cinemas
in and out of Germany. His films have been prominently
presented by the Goethe Institutes world wide.
Most of George Moorse's best
films were photographed by the well-known Dutch
cinematographer Gerard Vandenberg.
Amongst his films was
Lenz, based on a novel by a19th century German poet,
Georg Büchner (1813-1837). He also made an
extraordinary pre-history extravaganza called PAN, dealing
with the loin-clothed family relationships between Irish and
German natives.
Still from Lenz, based
on a novel by the 19h century
German poet, Georg Büchner
(1813-1837).
George Moorse was educated at
Hofstra College, Hempstead, New York, USA and at Washington
Square College, New York, where he won prizes for both his
paintings and his writings. At the age of 15 Moorse sold his
first poem to The New York Times for $8.00. His writings
have appeared ever since then in important literary reviews
and magazines both in American and abroad. He is survived by
a daughter and son, Kiki and Ian Moorse from a previous
marriage, a sister who is still living in Bellmore, New
York, USA, a brother who lives in North Carolina, and a
younger sister who lives in Florida, and by his partner for
many years, Senta Ofenmacher, who lives in Hamburg,
Germany.
Themistocles Hoetis is the
publisher of fiba
(FILMBANK)
magazine.
© 1999
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