Cowboys & Communists

Centering on hip Berlin bar and burlesque joint White Trash Fast Food, this 64 minute documentary explores life in East Berlin after the wall — a place where libertines and die-hard communists co-exist, not always harmoniously. The cowboy of the title is Wally Potts, who escaped from Los Angeles and launched an Americana bar in Berlin. The Communist is Horst Woitalla, an ex-journalist who lives upstairs. Horst mourns the end of the old regime, and yearns for a decent sleep. Kiwi director Jess Feast did 18 months at White Trash as a waitress. The film won her an award at Germany's Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival.

I'm a waitress ... I'm also a filmmaker, and for 18 months while I waitressed at White Trash I shot this film: the story of the battle for this corner, where the lives of a cowboy and a communist collide.

– Director Jess Feast, in the opening minutes of Cowboys and Communists

Key Cast & Crew

Lala Rolls

Editor

Dave Gibson

Producer

Bernadette Paassen

Camera

Phil Burton

Sound Mix

Paul Sutorius

Editor

Jess Feast

Director, Editor, Producer, Research, Additional Camera Operator, Additional Sound Recordist