Angela Schanelec with THE DREAMED PATH (Filmgalerie 451) and the feature film debutant Michael Koch with MARIJA (DE/CH, Pandora Film Produktion, Little Shark Entertainment) in the International Competition, Christian Schwochow with PAULA (DE/FR, Pandora Film Produktion) and Maria Schrader with STEFAN ZWEIG – FAREWELL TO EUROPE (DE/FR/AT, X Filme Creative Pool) on the Piazza Grande, a retrospective about cinema in the young Federal Republic of Germany, a lifetime achievement award for German actor Mario Adorf and director Edgar Reitz as the Pardo di Domani jury president – the German presence at the Festival del Film Locarno has rarely been as strong as at the 69th edition (3 – 13 August 2016).

In addition, the Cineasti del presente competition will open with Douglas Gordon’s I HAD NOWHERE TO GO (moneypenny filmproduktion, olddognewtricks). The world premiere of Corinna Belz’s new documentary PETER HANDKE – IN THE WOODS, MIGHT BE LATE will be presented ‘out of competition’. ETAGE X by Francy Fabritz (DFFB) will be competing in Pardi di domani, the competition for short and medium-length films.

More about the German line-up in Locarno...

Director Sven Taddicken, the actors Ulrich Tukur and Johannes Krisch, the producers Alexander and Manuel Bickenbach and the rest of the ORIGINAL BLISS team were satisfied with their trip to the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1 – 9 July 2016). There was enthusiastic applause from the audience during the closing credits for the adaptation of A.L. Kennedy's eponymous novel on the occasion of its international premiere in the Main Competition; there were positive reviews in such publications as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen International, and ORIGINAL BLISS received the International Federation of Film Critics' prestigious FIPRESCI Award.

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More about the German films and the German Films reception in Karlovy Vary…

The German city of Bremen became the center for international film buyers from 6 - 9 July 2016:  the German Films Previews played host to 74 guests from 33 countries, who screened 14 new German films and had an opportunity for effective networking with the German world sales companies and the local industry.

A number of deals were sealed straight after the event...

Mariette Rissenbeek, managing director of German Films: "This year’s event was quite unique. We had a number of high-quality family entertainment films combined with high-profile festival films which proved their potential in the competitions of the world’s A-festivals in Shanghai, Moscow and Karlovy Vary just now, and others can be seen at upcoming international festivals this summer and fall. The German Films Previews proved they are attractive for international buyers from all over the world."

German Films has been organizing the industry event for distributors since 2001. It has previously been held in Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and Dresden.

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