A great meta-documentary from the German transfilmmaker Rosa von Praunheim: I love her/his works!!!
Before World War II, Lothar Berfelde was the highly effeminate son of an unusually macho Nazi father. Somehow he escaped from his home and survived throughout the Nazi years, usually passing as a woman, then he survived the communist years in East Germany and helped start the German gay liberation movement. In this combined documentary and docudrama, the outspoken gay filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim tells the story of this quintessential survivor who has become a hero among those with minority sexual inclinations. Lothar, who has gone by the name Charlotte von Mahlsdorf for many decades now, responds to the director's questions before, during, and after re-enactments of key scenes from her life. This story is based in part on her autobiography: two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years and in some scenes, the real Charlotte meets her fictional counterparts, and the situation becomes a teaching experience as Charlotte relates many of the atrocities she witnessed as she struggled to survive in WWII Germany.
In German with hard-coded English subtitles
Rosa von Praunheim - Ich bin meine eigene Frau (1992).avi 