Knut Elstermann
Born in East Berlin in 1960, Knut Elstermann began studying journalism in Leipzig in 1982 and has worked as an editor and film journalist for newspapers, radio, and television. From 1989 to 1991, he was a host on the youth radio station DT64 and has since worked regularly as a film critic for MDR, radioeins, and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, among others.
Elstermann is also an author, focusing primarily on the history of cinema – particularly in the GDR – as well as contemporary historical topics. His 2005 book about a Holocaust survivor (Gerdas Schweigen) was adapted into a film by Britta Wauer in 2008. Elstermann’s book Im Gespräch, published in 2022, compiles interviews with DEFA artists spanning three decades, including Frank Beyer, Heiner Carow, Manfred Krug, and Jutta Hoffmann. Knut Elstermann assisted Axel Ranisch with dramaturgical matters for the production Mokka-Hits und Milchbar-Träume at the Komische Oper Berlin.
As of May 2026
Elstermann is also an author, focusing primarily on the history of cinema – particularly in the GDR – as well as contemporary historical topics. His 2005 book about a Holocaust survivor (Gerdas Schweigen) was adapted into a film by Britta Wauer in 2008. Elstermann’s book Im Gespräch, published in 2022, compiles interviews with DEFA artists spanning three decades, including Frank Beyer, Heiner Carow, Manfred Krug, and Jutta Hoffmann. Knut Elstermann assisted Axel Ranisch with dramaturgical matters for the production Mokka-Hits und Milchbar-Träume at the Komische Oper Berlin.
As of May 2026