Published by Schirmer/Mosel in 2011, “Stand der Dinge” (The State of Things) is Jim Rakete’s masterly survey of the German film industry. Commissioned for the reopening of the German Film Museum, the book features 100 striking color portraits of actors and directors who have shaped the landscape of German-speaking cinema. Moving away from traditional celebrity photography, Rakete captures legends such as Christoph Waltz and Nina Hoss alongside influential creators like Wim Wenders, each posing with a significant prop from their cinematic past. The book challenges the viewer to decode the relationship between the sitter and the object, turning a simple portrait session into a narrative puzzle. With insightful texts by Dominik Graf and Freddy Langer, this volume stands as a definitive visual “Hall of Fame” for contemporary European film.