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May 2022

LISTEN UP! OUR “SHORT TAKE – THE GERMAN FILMS PODCAST” IS BACK!


On June 25, 2020, German Films started the project SHORT TAKE – THE GERMAN FILMS PODCAST to introduce you to German filmmakers and their work in short, entertaining as well as interesting interviews! Whether it was upcoming talents or established creatives – German Films had a whole bunch of great guests in front of the microphone. The aim is to show you a different side of them - and for you to find out something fun and new about them.
After a short break, our podcast is back - with new episodes and exciting guests! Starting in June, a new episode will be released every three weeks.
For more information about our podcast, please contact Carmen Böhm.
To stay up to date, follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shorttake

KINO 2022: GERMAN FILM WEEK IN ISTANBUL IN MAY


The Goethe Institut in Istanbul and German Films joined forces to organise the German Film Week KINO2022 which was held in Istanbul from 10- 15 May. THE LAST EXECUTION’s director Franziska Stünkel attended in person along with Marten Persiel who was there for EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE and Matti Geschonneck with his film THE CONFERENCE. The screenings were held in the new cinematheque Sinematek/Cinema Evi in the Asian part of Istanbul. Apart from the films mentioned above, there were also presentations of DEAR THOMAS by Andreas Kleinert, RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE BUSH by Andreas Dresen, NÖ by Dietrich Brüggemann, PRECIOUS IVIE by German Face To Face talent Sarah Blaßkiewitz and the documentary BEHIND THE HEADLINES by Daniel Andreas Sager.  The 41st Istanbul Film Festival in April had already hosted screenings by KINO2022 of LAND OF DREAMS by Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari, THE EXAM by Shawkat Amin Korki, and LOVE, DEUTSCHMARKS AND DEATH by Cem Kaya, which recently won the Documentary Film Award of the Goethe Institut at DOK.fest München.

THE GERMAN FILMS FESTIVAL IN AUSTRALIA RETURN


The GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL will be held nationwide from 24 May to 22 June in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and Byron Bay. Presented by Palace Cinemas in collaboration with German Films, the 2022 German Film Festival’s full programme has now been unveiled and features a standout selection of 26 films. The Goethe-Institut will again be contributing the popular sidebar ‘Kino for Kids’, along with a celebration of the organisation’s 50th anniversary of operating in Australia presenting a special selection of five films from the 1970s to the 2020s.

Apart from the opening film A STASI COMEDY by Leander Haußmann, the festival will be showing a diverse and exciting line-up of films:

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
A STASI COMEDY (STASIKOMÖDIE) by Leander Haußmann (Opening Film)
THE LAST EXECUTION (NAHSCHUSS) by Franziska Stünkel
DEAR THOMAS (LIEBER THOMAS) by Andreas Kleinert
THE FORGER (DER PASSFÄLSCHER) by Maggie Peren

NEW GERMAN CINEMA
CONTRA by Sönke Wortmann
IT´S JUST A PHASE HONEY (ES IST NUR EINE PHASE, HASE) by Florian Gallenberger
MY SON (MEIN SOHN) by Lena Stahl
THE BLACK SQUARE (DAS SCHWARZE QUADRAT) by Peter Meister
THE GERMAN LESSON (DEUTSCHSTUNDE) by Christian Schwochow
THE HOUSE (DAS HAUS) by Rick Ostermann
THE PATH (DER PFAD) by Tobias Wiemann
THE SEED (DIE SAAT) by Mia Maariel Meyer

BEYOND BERLIN: AUSTRIAN CINEMA
CHASING THE LINE (KLAMMER) by Andreas Schmied
RISKS AND SIDE EFFECTS (RISIKEN UND NEBENWIRKUNGEN) by Michael Kreihsl

BEYOND BERLIN: SWISS CINEMA
CAGED BIRDS (BIS WIR TOT SIND ODER FREI) by Oliver Rihs
MONTE VERITÀ (MONTE VERITÀ – DER RAUSCH DER FREIHEIT) by Stefan Jäger

KINO FOR KIDS
A SECRET BOOK OF FRIENDSHIP – THE GREATEST ADVENTURE (NACHTWALD)
 by André Hörmann
MISSION ULJA FUNK by Barbara Kronenberger
SCHOOL OF MAGICAL ANIMALS (DIE SCHULE DER MAGISCHEN TIERE) by Gregor Schnitzler
TALES OF FRANZ (DIE GESCHICHTEN VOM FRANZ) by Johannes Schmid
THE WALL BETWEEN US (ZWISCHEN UNS DIE MAUER) by Norbert Lechner

5 FILMS FROM 5 DECADES
THE TIN DRUM (DIE BLECHTROMMEL) by Volker Schlöndorff
SOLO SUNNY by Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase
RUN LOLA RUN (LOLA RENNT) by Tom Tykwer
GOOD BYE, LENIN! by Wolfgang Becker
VICTORIA by Sebastian Schipper

German Films and Palace Cinemas are delighted that the German director Franziska Stünkel will be attending to represent her film THE LAST EXECUTION, starring Lars Eidinger (PERSIAN LESSONS, 25 KM/H, BABYLON BERLIN), in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. THE LAST EXECUTION is based on a true story about the last death sentence carried out in and by the socialist GDR (East Germany). Stünkel’s filmmaking is also influenced by her work as a photographic artist. The film premiered at the 2021 Filmfest München where it won the German Cinema New Talent Award for Best Screenplay. The film has been screened internationally at more than 13 festivals such as Chicago Film FestivalTallinn Black Nights Film Festival and the Main Competition of Camerimage 2021.

For more information, please visit www.germanfilmfestival.com.au and our social media @germanfilmfestival.

24TH FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS IN MADRID


The 24th edition of the FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS will take place from 8 to 12 June 2022 at the Palacio de la Prensa cinema in Madrid to celebrate German cinema in the Spanish capital.

The FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS will open this year with the drama and Achtung Berlin Filmfestival winner WHISPERS OF WAR by director and screenwriter Florian Hoffmann who will present the film to the Spanish press and audience. The film tells the story of Khalil, a primary school teacher from Berlin, who thinks he has recognised his sister, presumed dead, in war footage from his Kurdish hometown of Cizre. In an attempt to bring his sister to safety and inform the public about the brutal war, his life is thrown off course. As his existence in Berlin is on the brink, he is forced to ask himself where he belongs.
This will be the first time that two medium-length films are being shown in a special feature: RONDO by Katharina Rivilis and SURVIVE by Lara Brose and Kilian Armando Friedrich. TOUBAB will also be shown on the big screen with an extra screening for Spanish schoolchildren.
In addition, Melanie Lischker will travel to Madrid with her moving documentary LIFE ON TAPE for screenings and Q&As.
This year will see the Goethe Institut presenting a retrospective entitled HISTORIAS E HISTORIA on the films of Christian Schwochow, showing JE SUIS KARLTHE GERMAN LESSON as well as BORNHOLMER STRASSE.

Partners of the festival are the Goethe Institut Madrid, the German Embassy MadridFILMIN and Almamedia+.

List of films at the Festival of German Films in Madrid:

WHISPERS OF WAR (STILLE POST) by Florian Hoffmann – opening film
LIFE ON TAPE (BILDER (M)EINER MUTTER) by Melanie Lischker
EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE by Marten Persiel
FUTURE IS A LONELY PLACE by Laura Harwarth, Martin Hawie
NO ONE’S WITH THE CALVES (NIEMAND IST BEI DEN KÄLBERN) by Sabrina Sarabi
RONDO by Katharina Rivilis
TOUBAB by Florian Dietrich
SURVIVE (ÜBERLEBEN) by Lara Brose, Kilian Friedrich
NGST NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2021 by various directors

Retro Christian Schwochow
JE SUIS KARL
THE GERMAN LESSON (DEUTSCHSTUNDE)
BORNHOLMER STRASSE

EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM AT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL


This year will see the successful collaboration between European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Sydney Film Festival (8 - 19 June, 2022) presenting its seventh edition of EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM. The programme will cast a spotlight on ten selected films by outstanding European women filmmakers for the Australian audience, film industry and press. The line-up includes EVERYONE’S TALKIN’ ABOUT THE WEATHER (ALLE REDEN ÜBERS WETTER), the graduation film by the German filmmaker Annika Pinske.

The quiet drama centres on the relationship between mothers and daughters, reflecting urban-rural alienation, East-West origins and the risk a woman with professional ambitions and alternative life plans is willing to take: Clara has made it: she has got away from her native provincial East Germany,now living an independent life in Berlin, teaching philosophy while finishing her PhD. Between her professional ambitions, an affair with one of her students and her demanding friendship with her thesis advisor Margot, she barely has time for her family. When Clara visits her mother for a weekend with her 15-year-old daughter Emma, she finds herself confronted with her ideal of an unfettered, self-determined life and the price she must pay for it.

Annika Pinske grew up in Frankfurt/Oder (Germany). Parallel to her studies in Philosophy and Literature, she worked for the theatre director René Pollesch and then served as an assistant to the German film director Maren Ade (TONI ERDMANN). In 2011, she started studying Film Directing at the German Film- and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Her short films were awarded and screened worldwide, such as ANYWAYS (Nomination German Short Film Award 2015) and HOMEWORK (Winner German Short Film Award 2016).

EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM, in collaboration with Sydney Film Festival, is made possible thanks to the support of Creative Europe - the MEDIA Programme of the European UnionEurimages, and the participating national film promotion institutes, EFP’s member organisations: Cinecittà (Italy), Danish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, German Films, Romanian Film Development, SEE NL (The Netherlands), Screen Ireland / Fís Éireann, Slovenian Film Centre, Swedish Film Institute, and SWISS FILMS. EUROPE! VOICES OF WOMEN IN FILM will continue its successful cooperation with the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) and Festival Scope. The main media partner is Screen International, with Fade to Her and Fred Film Radio as additional media partners.

NEWSBYTES


KINO! FILM SALON: THE AUDITION
The focus of the next session of the English-language online film club KINO! FILM SALON will be on Ina Weisse‘s feature film THE AUDITION – the work that gave leading German actress Nina Hoss rave reviews after its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. In addition, Nina Hoss was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actress at the San Sébastian International Film Festival for her performance.
RSVP: bit.ly/kinosalontheaudition
Date and Time: Sunday, June 19, 2022 at 11am - 12pm PDT, 2pm - 3pm EDT, 8pm - 9pm CET.
Hosted by Sydney Levine
You can find a selection of films with Nina Hoss, available online in the US, here
KINO! FILM SALON is a production of Telescope Film, in collaboration with the German Film Office.

NEW GERMAN SHORT FILMS – CATALOGUE UPDATE
31 new fiction, documentary, animation and experimental shorts produced in 2022 have just been added to the online short film catalogue. The new shorts, selected by a jury from suggestions made by members of the AG Kurzfilm (German Short Film Association), include films from the festival line-ups of Sundance, Berlin, Nyon, Dresden, Oberhausen, Hamburg, Krakow and Annecy, and are also available in the Cannes Court Métrage market catalogue. All those interested can search for German short films in the online catalogue using a wide range of functions, keywords, themes, categories, etc. International film professionals can screen the films online after registering. More than 900 short films produced since 2004 are now available for viewing. Here’s the link to the latest additions.

TIFF FILMMAKER LAB TALENT PROGRAM – APPLICATIONS OPEN
Each year, 20 Canadian and international writer-directors are selected by the Toronto International Film Festival for the TIFF Filmmaker Lab. During the festival in September, participants of this talent development programme receive a 5-day professional introduction to the global community of filmmaking, including mentorships and access to the festival and conferences. Applications are open until 6 June to emerging filmmakers with at least 2 short film credits and a maximum of 1 feature film credit as a director or screenwriter. More information here.

FESTIVALS


German productions and co-productions in TribecaAtlantaNew YorkMilwaukeeWashington D.C.ViennaHuesca and Frameline.

AWARDS


Prizes for German productions and co-productions in Seattle.

INTERNATIONAL RELEASES IN JUNE


International releases of German films in June 2022 supported by the German Films Distribution Support program.

BLISS in Mexico (Distributor: Bestiario Films, World Sales: Reel Suspects, Theatrical Release: 17 June 2022)
BLOODSUCKERS – A MARXIST VAMPIRE COMEDY in Austria (Distributor: Filmgarten, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: 03 June 2022)
CRESCENDO in Frankreich (Distributor: Bodega Films, World Sales: Global Screen, Thatrical Release: 15 June 2022)
DEAR MR. FÜHRER in Poland (Distributor: New Horizons Association, World Sales: The Playmaker Munich, Theatrical Release: 10 June 2022)
DEAR FUTURE CHILDREN in Österreich (Distributor: Stadtkino Filmverleih, World Sales: Magnetfilm, Thatrical Release: 03 June 2022)
MAYA THE BEE 3: THE GOLDEN ORB in Slovenia (Distributor: Blitz Film & Video Distribution, World Sales: Studio 100 Film, Theatrical Release: 02 June 2022)
MOON BOUND in Vietnam (Distributor: Yejilim Entertainment, World Sales: Sola Media, Theatrical Release: 10 June 2022)
NO HARD FEELINGS in the Netherlands (Distributor: Cinemien, World Sales: m-appeal, Theatrical Release: 16 June 2022)
PRINCE in France (Distributor: Shellac, World Sales: Komplizen Film, Theatrical Release: 08 June 2022)
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES in Taiwan (Distributor: Swallow Wings, World Sales: Global Screen, Theatrical Release: 02 June 2022)
WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? in Lithuania (Distributor: A-One Films Baltic, World Sales: Cercamon, Theatrical Release: 03 June 2022)

Please note: Correct at time of going to press. Changes may occur at any time.



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