"Das Kleine Fernsehspiel" has offensively asserted itself for over 30 years against the pressure o f viewer quotas and big productions for television and cinema. The editorial staff has three extremely productive departments which are responsible for diverse programmes in the ZDF working pool for the main
programme, 3sat and arte. They all have in common "small" budgets, non­ conformist views and the desire to experiment. "Das Kleine Fernsehspiel" supervises 26 new productions and 13 reruns yearly, televised at 23:00 on Sundays and at 00:00 on Mondays on ZDF. These broadcasting times - despite all the disadvantages - allow us much freedom. We produce television plays, essays, documentaries, experimental films and, last not least, movies. Our focus on new German fiction, docu­ mentary films and international co­ productions structures the variety. Das Kleine Fernseh­ spiel: quantum. Since 1989, the programme workshop "quantum", which was founded for the cultural channel 3sat by "Das Kleine Fernsehspiel" editorial staff, has developed - from the initial idea to a mature prototype - new forms spe­ cifically for television. In addition to individual telecasts, in which the
media itself was at issue, many new formats for television series have
evolved: e.g., the "3sat Titeltage", which was the force behind evening-long topics on arte, the women's news magazine "Nova", the short crime series "Schicksal der Woche", the night show “Pudel Overnight", the music magazine "Lost in Music" and recently the TV-legend "Deckname Strack".
Productions which have been developed by "quantum" are shown on 3sat, ZDF and arte. Das Kleine Fernsehspiel/arte. The editorial staff od 'Das Kleine Fernsehspiel/ arte' is responsible yearly for approximately 20 evening-long programmes on a specific topic on arte. Three times a week a slot is reserved for a whole evening, consequently allowing for great thematic and formal freedom. For each of these evenings, we attempt to sustain a specific dramaturgy, and to position the individual contributions to supplement or contrast with one another so that the evening, taken as a whole, is more than the sum o f its parts. The individual elements (new productions and purchases) range from documen­ taries, short films or feature films, to essays, or mixtures of these forms. Many new productions are made in international co-operation with other television channels or institutions. Furthermore, the editorial staff supplies short films (purchases) for the
programme "Kurzschluß", and co­ produces with ZDF television films for arte, as well as documentary films with independent filmmakers and producers from around the world. So gut mie Liebe (Virtual Love), Juristische Körper, Der letzte Engel der Geschichte (The Last Angel of History), Cyber City: San Francisco, Pudel Overnight: Berlin, Magic Eye: 9 1/2 Finger, Deckname „Strack“ - Eine Fernseh-Legende, Habillagen/Habillages, Sex/Maschine - eine Reise ins Reich der künstlichen Liebe, Maskerade (Videoessay)