What We Laughed At: The Sharp Comedy Time Travel at filmforum Duisburg
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What We Laughed At: When Television History Suddenly Laughs Back
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, filmforum Duisburg will show the documentary What We Laughed At. At 3:30 PM, the cinema screen will take us back to the entertainment world of the 1990s and early 2000s – a time when men often delivered the punchlines and women were often made into the punchline themselves.
Comedy Between Cult Moments and Stiff Laugh Muscles
Hella von Sinnen, Esther Schweins, Maren Kroymann, Gaby Köster, and Bettina Böttinger share their experiences in German television. The film combines archival material with personal memories and poses a simple yet biting question: Who was actually allowed to determine what was laughed at back then?
The result is not a harmless nostalgia revue with confetti filters. What We Laughed At pointedly views a TV culture where male-driven humor long served as the benchmark. Between stand-up, satire, television shows, and social observation, a dense picture emerges of those years in which female comedians and hosts had to fight for their place in front of the camera.
Big Names, Clear Perspectives
The participating female artists are among the defining voices of the German comedy and entertainment scene. Maren Kroymann, Hella von Sinnen, Gaby Köster, Esther Schweins, and Bettina Böttinger speak openly, reflectively, and with a noticeable sense of timing about their careers and the obstacles behind the scenes.
The audience reaction is likely to swing between hearty laughter, surprised looks, and thoughtful silence. This is precisely the strength of the film: It shows that humor not only entertains but also reveals power dynamics. Some old television images today seem like a punchline with an overly lengthy beard – unfortunately, they were no exception back then.
A Laugh Experience with Attitude
Directed by Eva Müller and Isabel Schneider, the documentary traces the history of German entertainment television from a female perspective and combines a comedy atmosphere with media criticism. The film asks how role models emerge, why certain jokes were considered normal for decades, and how the stage and television landscape has changed.
With a runtime of 96 minutes, the cinema afternoon in Duisburg offers a concentrated film experience without downtime. The age rating is 12 years. Those who find comedy, cabaret, satire, and German television history intriguing will not experience a classic stage show here, but an entertaining time travel with sharp punchlines and surprisingly relevant aftershocks.
Conclusion: Laugh, Look Back, and Listen Anew
What We Laughed At invites you to reassess familiar television images and calibrate your own humor compass briefly. Visitors can expect a clever, entertaining, and at times revealing documentary about women in television, societal role models, and the question of who gets the last word. The filmforum Duisburg provides the suitable cinema room for this – mark your calendar now and experience the laugh experience live on the big screen.
Official Channels of Maren Kroymann, Hella von Sinnen, Gaby Köster, Esther Schweins, and Bettina Böttinger:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- TikTok: no official profile found
