In 1985, Rainer A. Schmidt, Wolf Götz Richter and Ray Van Zeschau founded the film collective FESA (“feige sau”) and, from 1986 onwards, organised the first independent and illegal Dresden Film Festival in secret in a flat on Schweriner Straße. FESA’s films were mostly surreal and used drastic artistic means to critically engage with social oppression, environmental issues and militarisation. In 1988, Schmidt and Van Zeschau founded the band Freunde der italienischen Oper (F.D.I.O.), which gave their films a distinctive sound and closely intertwined music, performance and film. The band’s performance in Wolfgang Engel’s 1989 production of “Faust” at the Dresden Staatsschauspiel, with Ray Van Zeschau as Euphorion, is legendary.

Films such as “Frustratorische Assoziationen 86”, which caused a stir at the opening of the “Leibesvisitation” exhibition at the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden in 1991, were presented to a wider audience for the first time at the 25th International Short Film Festival Dresden and at the Sofia International Film Festival in 2025.

After several break-ups and re-formations, concert projects and tours, including with bands such as DIE ART, the Friends of Italian Opera released their album “Kassandras Komplex” in 2024 with a sold-out release concert at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. They will present their new album “Angelus Luminis” to the public for the first time on 3 October 2026 at the HELLERAU in an extraordinary film-music project featuring guests such as René Pape.

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