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GERMAN GEMS was conceived in 2010 by Ingrid Eggers, the acclaimed former director and founder of the San Francisco based film festival, Berlin & Beyond. German Gems began as a one-day film project showcasing new German, Swiss and Austrian films. It is quickly becoming an annual weekend-long festival of German-language cinema, to be screened at the legendary Castro Theatre in San Francisco and the charming Arena Theater in Mendocino County.

Features, documentaries and shorts are on the program, with an emphasis on new productions, but keep your eyes open for classic “German Gems” to brighten the screen!

See you in January!

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The inaugural GERMAN GEMS film event presents a full day of German cinema—four new movies from Germany and one from Austria—at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco’s citadel of cinema, Sunday, February 28. A subset of the program will also be shown Saturday, March 6 in Point Arena in Mendocino County. Ingrid Eggers, the founder of the Berlin & Beyond film festival and its guiding spirit until now, returns with a program of five new German-language discoveries.

All films are in German with English subtitles.

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Buy a Festival Pass! All-day pass at the Castro includes reception and eligibility for a drawing of a pair of VIP tickets to The Caucasian Chalk Circle at ACT.

NOON: TENDER PARASITES Zarte Parasiten (Germany 2009, 87 min.)
Dir. Christian Becker and Oliver Schwabe, with Robert Stadlober, Sylvester Groth, Maja Schöne
In German with English subtitles

TENDER PARASITES tells the story of Manu and Jakob, two young people who have developed some idiosyncratic survival strategies. Homeless and jobless, they choose to live in a rustic camp in the woods and for cash, they provide human contact and care for old and lonely people. They strive to fill their employer’s desires, anticipating their needs or wants. Jakob befriends a married couple and slowly becomes a surrogate for their deceased son. As this new “relationship” grows, a void begins to grow between him and Manu, and their lives begin to derail.

A touching love story that establishes the filmmakers as a sensitive new voice in the world of cinema. TENDER PARASITES premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival and has since been invited to numerous international festivals.

Producer Juliane Thevissen will attend the screening.

Buy tickets for TENDER PARASITES at the Castro:

2 PM: MISS STINNES Fräulein Stinnes fährt um die Welt (Germany 2009, 90 min.)
Dir. Erica von Moeller, with Sandra Hüller, Bjarne Henriksen
In German with English subtitles

MISS STINNES is the dramatic telling of one of the most unusual adventure stories of the 20th century. Clärenore Stinnes, daughter of a wealthy industrialist, conjures up an ambitious dream to circumnavigate the world by car and and has the means to do it. Starting the journey in Berlin in 1927 in an Adler with two mechanics and a Swedish cameraman, Miss Stinnes survived the two-year-long journey and so did the Adler, the cameraman, and all of the footage documenting the insane adventure, which became the basis of this docu-drama.

Director Erica von Moeller will attend the screening.

Buy tickets for MISS STINNES at the Castro:

Kinofest Lünen presents: Production Award Winner 2009
4:15 PM: BEING MR KOTSCHIE Mensch Kotschie (Germany 2009, 96 min.)
Dir. Norbert Baumgarten, with Stefan Kurt, Claudia Michelsen, Ulrike Krumbiegel
In German with English subtitles

As his 50th birthday approaches, Jürgen Kotschie seems to have everything a man can ask for: a house, a beautiful wife, a son, success, money, and admiring colleagues. But with his mid-century pressing upon him, he lies awake tormented with sleepless contemplation and confusion about the circumstances of his life. It all begins to unhinge and the banalities of every-day-life become surreal, complete with fantastic images set to a capella Baroque music. A fantastic treat.

Baumgarten’s LIBERATED ZONE was shown at Berlin & Beyond in 2004.

Director Norbert Baumgarten will attend the screening

Buy tickets for BEING MR KOTSCHIE at the Castro:

6 – 7 PM: Filmmakers Reception

Buy tickets for Filmmakers Reception at the Castro:

7 PM: VISION Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Germany 2009, 111 min.)
Dir. Margarethe von Trotta, with Barbara Sukowa, Hannah Herzsprung, Heino Ferch, Alexander Held
In German with English subtitles

Hildegard von Bingen, long considered a candidate for sainthood, is a legend whose popularity and teachings have spanned the ages. Her musical, literary and philosophical works are still loved today and her impact on holistic medicine is still vital. The first woman composer and the first to write about female sexuality, her works inspired not just Dante and Leonardo da Vinci several centuries later but were a key to bringing Europe out of medieval darkness into the modern era of science and enlightenment. The team of Margarethe von Trotta, one of the great directors of her generation, and Barbara Sukowa, one of Germany’s most fascinating actresses, create this powerful portrait of Hildegard von Bingen.

Buy tickets for VISION at the Castro:

9:15 PM: THE BONE MAN Der Knochenmann (Austria 2009, 121 min.)
Dir. Wolfgang Murnberger, with Josef Hader, Josef Bierbichler, Birgit Minichmayr
In German with English subtitles

Private Investigator Brenner (Josef Hader) is handling a case at the grill-station “Löschenkohl.” After ordering the grilled chicken house special, he discovers another kind of meat that isn’t on the menu. Again, director Wolfgang Murnberger joins up with actor Josef Hader and writer Wolf Haas to create another irresistibly dark comedy in the same vein as their earlier collaboration SILENTIUM (shown at Berlin & Beyond 2006). THE BONE MAN is “harte Kost”—

Buy tickets for THE BONE MAN at the Castro:

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2 PM: BEING MR KOTSCHIE Mensch Kotschie (Germany 2009, 96 min.)
In German with English subtitles

As his 50th birthday approaches, Jürgen Kotschie seems to have everything a man can ask for: a house, a beautiful wife, a son, success, money, and admiring colleagues. But with his mid-century pressing upon him, he lies awake tormented with sleepless contemplation and confusion about the circumstances of his life. It all begins to unhinge and the banalities of every-day-life become surreal, complete with fantastic images set to a capella Baroque music.

Director Norbert Baumgarten will attend the screening

Buy tickets for BEING MR KOTSCHIE at Point Arena:

4 PM: MISS STINNES Fräulein Stinnes fährt um die Welt (Germany 2009, 90 min.)
In German with English subtitles

MISS STINNES is the dramatic telling of one of the most unusual adventure stories of the 20th century. Clärenore Stinnes conjures up an ambitious dream to circumnavigate the world by car and and has the means to do it. In 1927 she starts in Berlin in an Adler with two mechanics and a cameraman. Miss Stinnes survived the two-year-long journey and so did the Adler, the cameraman, and the footage documenting the insane adventure.

Director Erica von Moeller will attend the screening

Buy tickets for MISS STINNES at Point Arena:

7:30 PM: VISION – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Germany 2009, 111 min.)
In German with English subtitles

Hildegard von Bingen, long considered a candidate for sainthood, is a legend whose popularity and teachings have spanned the ages. The first woman composer and the first to write about female sexuality, her works were a key to bringing Europe out of medieval darkness into the enlightenment. The renowned Margarethe von Trotta teams up with Barbara Sukowa, one of Germany’s most fascinating actresses, to create this powerful portrait.

Buy tickets for VISION at Point Arena:

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