ORWO sold in 90 countries through brisk advertising and low prices
Photo: imago / Gueffroy
Wolfen / Baton Rouge - This is what the SED planned economists only dreamed of from 1964 until the fall of the Wall: ORWO conquered the USA! Now, over 30 years later, the most famous trademark of the GDR is even an American itself.
The abbreviation for “ORiginal WOlfen” has recently been emblazoned in the credits of several expensive Hollywood films, wider than before in the credits of every film. From “Born To Be Blue” with Ethan Hawke (50) to “Twilight” to “Grand Isle” with Nicolas Cage (57): in the end everything is ORWO!
Behind it is - for the time being - a film studio from Louisiana. The American company based in Baton Rouge and an offshoot in Hollywood not only offers an all-round carefree package for feature film producers, including sets and post-production. In the social networks, fan articles are advertised with the familiar ORWO logo.
“Everything is completely legal,” says Rainer Redmann (71) - until last year co-owner of Orwo Filmotec GmbH. At the beginning of 2020, he and his partner sold the company, which specializes in black-and-white material and is based in Wolfener Röntgenstrasse, to the British-American consortium "Seal 1818": "Including the rights to the brand and logo that we hold outside Europe."
Meanwhile, the Americans are drawn back to the birthplace of the ORWO film. According to BILD research, a studio and production complex is planned in Wolfen. There have already been at least two rounds of talks with the local Orwo Net GmbH and the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. So far, all sides have been silent about the results.