Draft:Bauhaus - A New Era

Bauhaus - A New Era (German: Die Neue Zeit) is a 2019 historical miniseries created and directed by Lars Kraume. The series centers on a fictionalized version of German-American architect Walter Gropius and his protege, Dörte Helm, as they navigate his early days as Master of The Bauhaus School in Weimar in 1919. The series is presented in flashbacks as Gropius tells his story to a journalist in 1963. The six-part series was produced by Zero One Film, and is presented in both German (in flashbacks) and English (in the present day).

The series premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on April 8, 2019.

Premise
In 1963, 80-year-old Walter Gropius (August Diehl) is visited in his home by Stine Branderup (Trine Dyrholm), a former colleague and journalist for Vanity Fair who expresses interest in his relationship with Dörte Helm, a former student with whom the married Gropius was accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship.

In 1919, 36-year-old Gropius is appointed Master of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar. During a speech on the first day of classes, he announces extreme changes he intends to implement to modernize the curriculum, much to the disapproval of members of the school board and the older members of staff. Dörte Helm (Anna Maria Mühe) arrives with her father, a traditional man who urges her to study illustration for children’s books. She meets Gunta (Valerie Pachner), a weaver who wishes to design chairs, and Marcel (Ludwig Trepte), a Jewish man who pursues Gunta romantically. Dörte is considering an engagement to her on-off boyfriend, Johannes (Alexander Finkenwirth), but is drawn to Gropius and his unorthodox approach to leading a school. He, in turn, is drawn to her frank observations about the school’s shortcomings. Appointed by Gropius is Master Itten (Sven Schelker), an intellectually masochistic master of painting, who clashes with many of the students due to his blunt critiques and violent methods of teaching. As Dörte finds her artistic voice, she urges Gropius to make room for women in the new artistic Bauhaus movement.

Cast

 * August Diehl as Walter Gropius, the director of the Bauhaus School who goes on to become a pioneer of modernist architecture. He is accused in both timelines of abusing his powers as director to instigate a relationship with a student, Dörte Helm.
 * Anna Maria Mühe as Dörte Helm, an idealistic student who arrives at the Bauhaus to study children's illustration, but explores different mediums during her time there. She is romantically attracted to Gropius. The characterization of Helm, like Gropius, is highly fictionalized and cannot be proven to be based on true events
 * Trine Dyrholm as Stine Branderup, a journalist for Vanity Fair to whom Gropius tells his story.
 * Valerie Pachner as Gunta Stölzl, Dörte's best friend and roommate. She later clashes with Dörte over her lax attitude towards women's oppression. She studies weaving and collaborates with Marcel on furniture design.
 * Ludwig Trepte as Marcel Breuer, a promising student who begins an artistic and romantic relationship with Gunta.
 * Sven Schelker as Master Johannes Itten, a Swiss artist and master of painting who intimidates the students with his abrasive methods of teaching.
 * Alexander Finkenwirth as Johannes Auerbach, Dörte's on-again, off-again boyfriend.
 * Corinna Kirchhoff as Baronesse von Freytag-Loringhoven, an elder of the school who highly disapproves of Gropius and his ideas.
 * Yannic Becker as Druckereistudent Dirk
 * Chris Dick as Joost Schmidt
 * Sebastian Blomberg as Max Greil
 * Birgit Minichmayr as Alma Mahler, Gropius' wife with whom he has one child. They have a tumultuous marriage that ultimately ends in divorce.

== Episodes ==

Release
Bauhaus - A New Era held its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Also debuting that year was A Hidden Life, which also starred Diehl and Pachner.

The series was released in Germany and France on August 29, 2019, and in the United States on May 4, 2021.