Charting Asian German Film History
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Provides a diachronic view of Asian German film history from early Orientalism to increasing collaboration as well as exploration of difference and alternate forms of national and cultural belonging.
From re-creating seedy opium dens and Hindu temples on set to capturing dazzling sights of Tokyo's neon-lit streets and Berlin's bustling Dong Xuan Center on location, cinema has provided German-speaking audiences a window into the "exotic" cultures of Asia since the early 1900s. Over time, unilateral German imaginings of Asian cultures and people increasingly gave way to collaboration with Asian countries and more variegated portrayals of the diasporic experiences of Asians in Europe, though Orientalist tropes have not been fully mitigated.
The present volume embraces several understudied regions of Asia as well as Austria and Switzerland. It incorporates archival research, close scene analyses, and genre overviews that elucidate the production and reception histories of individual films, drawing on the knowledge of film historians, cultural studies scholars, and Germanists based in North America, Europe, and Asia. The volume approaches film history by observing three distinct phenomena: early German cinematic imaginings of Asia, co-productions shot on location, and representations of the Asian German diaspora. The book aims to chart unwritten chapters of film history by pitching new readings of old masterpieces, exploring lesser-known works of prolific directors, and uncovering the roles of Asian collaborators from the early twentieth century to the new millennium.
QINNA SHEN received her PhD in German from Yale and is Associate Professor and Chair of German at Bryn Mawr College. She is the author of The Politics of Magic: DEFA Fairy-Tale Films (2015) and co-edited volumes Beyond Alterity: German Encounters with Modern East Asia (2014) and Charting Asian German Film History (2025). She is on the editorial board of German Studies Review and is currently co-editing the special issue marking the German Studies Association's 50th anniversary in 2026. ZACH RAMON FITZPATRICK is Assistant Professor of German at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. QINGYANG FREYA ZHOU is a PhD Candidate in German and Film Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Anjeana K. Hans is Associate Professor of German Studies at Wellesley College.