News about German Films & other topics related to things German will be posted here in English or German by Ingrid Eggers.  Check back often!

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(5/10/12)

Don’t miss Rothko and Richter. Berkeley Rep has a few more performances of RED, an award winning play by John Logan who says that the play is about fathers and sons and not about art. I disagree. It is about art, about painting, about Rothko and that’s why comparing it with GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING came to my mind. Two giant painters at work and talking about it. The Richter film at the Roxie will end today….

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(5/7/12)

A recent article in the New Yorker (9 April) dealt with Karl May and the fascination of Germans with the Native Americans. Check it out. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/09/120409fa_fact_galchen And here a few more thoughts that came to my mind when I read the piece.

The fascination of Germans with Native Americans began long before Karl May entered  the scene. When early German settlers came to the East Coast, many lived with Indian tribes, learned their languages, became translators and often part of the tribal families. The Roman historian Tacitus described the German tribes, like Germans would describe Indians, as uncorrupted, primitive, fierce and at one with nature, a people on the edge of a corrupt and voracious empire. Centuries later romantic writers like Novalis, Eichendorff. Brentano, Mörike, the painter Kasper David Friedrich and others dug deep into the primordial Germanness of man and nature and man’s longing for being one with nature in hostile surroundings. German Romanticism prepared the ground for Karl May’s success story.

In 1992 the Goethe-Institut in San Francisco presented a program of Germans and Native Americans with many distinguished tribal leaders present. They had visited some of the Indian Clubs in Germany and were impressed by the numbers, thousands of Germans masquerading every weekend as Indians from the North-American plains, and by the thoroughness that Germans seem to apply to whatever they do. “Driving on the Autobahn and seeing hundreds of teepees along the Rhine river, that was incerdible”, said Floyd Red Crow Westerman.

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(4-26-12)

Fahim Abassi is the lucky winner of the Glawogger tickets. Gratulation!

The first week of the International Film Festival is over and I have to admit that I didn’t see much. DREILEBEN last Saturday was a bit of a disappointment. The first part by Christian Petzold, whose films I find fascinating, did have the usual ingredients of small town people looking for a way out, a murderer hiding in the dark woods, passion and mystery,  but it did not add up to what Petzold has done in previous films, like JERICHO, YELLA or THE STATE I AM IN. The 2nd part of DREILEBEN was too convoluted, too much happening, too much talking. A beautiful old house, yes, with a voluptuous, very attractive woman living in it. And the 3rd part left too many questions open. For a crime story I need more answers that make sense.

SCHLAFKRANKHEIT, also by a director from the Berliner Schule, like Petzold and Hochhäusler,  shows some of their trademarks of long shots, slow plot development, composed beautiful images. The film kept my attention and initiated lively talks afterwards.

Two documentaries – not German – are the best of what I have seen so far, AI WEI WEI: NEVER SORRY and WOMEN WITH COWS. Ai Wei Wei is a fascinating, charismatic character so courageous and so full of ideas that have been turned into his art projects. The film is just the beginning of a story that will need to continue. And the women devoted to cows are just out of this world. I grew up on a small farm with cows and could not of dreamt up anything like these characters living now and in Sweden. Go and see for yourself.

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Thanks so much for sending in all the correct answers to the Richter question. The lucky winner is Anni. Gratuliere!

And here another pair of tickets to give away to a film of your choice by Austrian filmmaker Michael Glawogger at the PFA in Berkeley, May 4 -6. A retrospective of his documentaries and features will be shown there with the filmmaker present for Q&A. His films are very powerful stuff, especially MEGACITIES which has stayed with me since I saw it more than 10 years ago. More on http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries/glawogger

And the question is: Which cities are portrayed in MEGACITIES? The first correct answer will win.

(4/25/12)

GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING  at the Roxie in San Francisco, May 4 to 10

One of the world’s greatest living painter, German artist Gerhard Richter, has spent more than half a century experimenting with a wide range of techniques and ideas addressing everything from mass media representation and uncomfortable historical issues to intimate personal experiences. Media shy like his colleague Anselm Kiefer, Richter for the first time in many years agreed to appear on camera for this fascinating document which juxtaposes his creative process with  personal comments and rare archival footage. He just turned eighty , so don’t miss this once in a lifetime portrait. More on http://www.roxie.com/events/details.cfm?eventID=E5D6762E-1143-DBB3-C67431715AA7D8A7

To win a pair of tickets for this show please answer the following question. The 2nd correct email to germangems@gmail.com is the winner.

Question:  In which German town does Richter live today – Düsseldorf, Berlin, Köln or Dresden?

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(4/18/12)

A big round of applause to all of you who sent in the answers to the DREILEBEN questions. All were correct, but only one winner, alas, whose email arrived yesterday at 14.29. Herzlichen Glückwunsch David.

Hope to see you all at the movies.

(4/17/12)

Thanks to all who sent in their answers to the SLEEPING SICKNESS question. The winners are Victor and Sylvia. Herzlichen Glückwunsch. And here the question for the trilogy DREILEBEN. The winner will get 1 set of 3 tickets for the 3 films screened on Saturday, April 21, starting at 1.30 pm at the Kabuki. True to form, the 3rd email with the correct answers  to the three-part question will win.

Please name the 3 films of DREILEBEN  (titles in German and English), the 3 filmmakers, and the English translation of Dreileben.

Viel Glück!

(4/15/12)

Here the question you have to answer for winning a pair of tickets to SLEEPING SICKNESS on Sunday April 22 at 6.30pm at the Kabuki. Will give away 2 pairs of tickets. Send your answer to germangems@gmail.com – first come first serve

What are the titles (in German and English) of Ulrich Koehler’s feature films (3)?

Good luck – and on Tuesday we will give away 1 set of tickets for DREILEBEN, a trilogy of German films also screened at SFIFF.

(4/13/12)

Win a pair of tickets for SLEEPING SICKNESS, shown at the SFIFF on Sunday April 22, 6.30 at the Kabuki. Check back here this coming Sunday, April 15 for the question you have to answer correctly in order to qualify.

And for the weekend I recommend ANY GIVEN DAY at the Magic Theatre. Bold, moving, disturbing, funny, just really good. No German is spoken in the play, but it could also happen in Germany on any given day.

(4/9/12)

San Francisco International Film Festival - April 19 to May 3, 2012

German Gems is pleased to co-present the latest film by Ulrich Koehler, recipient of the Best First Feature Award for BUNGALOW at Berlin& Beyond 2003

SCHLAFKRANKHEIT / SLEEPING SICKNESS

A German doctor working to fight a sleeping sickness epidemic in Cameroon must make difficult choices as he decides whether or not to return to Europe with his family. Ulrich Köhler’s award-winning film, a subtle and meditative examination of the social and psychological forces that intersect western aid to Africa, follows Dr. Ebbo Velten (Pierre Bokma) as he prepares to turn the medical program over to his replacement. Three years later, we see the consequences of Ebbo’s choice from the perspective of Alex Nzila (Jean-Christophe Folly), a young doctor who has come to evaluate the program. An African raised in France, Alex finds both African attitudes and Dr. Velten elusive and enigmatic. Köhler creates a palpable sense of dread and danger, stemming as much from the characters’ internal landscapes as from the corruption and military conflict that surround them. At times lushly beautiful as well as languorous and claustrophobic, the film’s echoes of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness suggest the degree to which colonial attitudes remain embedded in contemporary minds. For showtimes and tickets visit festival.sffs.org.. Link to:  http://festival.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=92

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(3/30/12)

Für den Frauenmonat März hier meine Erinnerungen an FRAUEN HINTER DER KAMERA 

Von 1989 bis 2009 gehörte ich beim Goethe-Institut San Francisco zu den Frauen hinter der Kamera, die zwar keine Filme gemacht haben, aber zahlreiche Filmprogramme, oft mit der Kamera in der Hand, und sogar vor der Kamera zusammen mit Regisseurinnen wie Doris Dörrie, Monika Treut, Nina Grosse, Bettina Oberli oder Erica von Möller. Schon in den achziger Jahren waren Frauen im Filmprogramm des Goethe-Instituts sehr präsent. Ich erinnere mich an “ausverkaufte” Filmabende schon lange vor meinem Amtsantritt (damals zahlte man noch keinen Eintritt) mit Ulrike Ottinger, Helke Sanders und Helma Sanders-Brahms. Manfred Triesch veranstaltete legendäre Parties, wo ich u. a. Margarete von Trotta kennenlernte. Zu einer meiner ersten Filmveranstaltungen, die mir in Erinnerung geblieben ist, kam Ulrike Ottinger 1990 mit ihrem Film COUNTDOWN ins Goethe-Institut.  Sie setzte sich lächelnd mitten in den anfangs noch vollen Saal. Ihr Lächeln verschwand aber, als immer mehr Leute den langen Film auf den harten Stühle nicht durchsitzen konnten und den Raum verließen. Der Countdown im Saal entfaltete sich als Gegenstück zum Countdown auf der Leinwand, der mit jubelnden Massen beim Fall der Mauer endete.

Die Filmtradition fortzusetzen und auszuweiten machte ich, als Programmfrau, zu meiner Hauptaufgabe, die sich bald zu einer wahren Leidenschaft entwickelte. 1996 wurde mit Hilfe von Institutsleiter Ulrich Sacker auf meine Anregung hin BERLIN & BEYOND ins Leben gerufen, ein einwöchiges Filmfestival, das endlich die vielen hervorragenden deutsch-sprachigen Filme auf großer Leinwand zeigen sollte, die sonst nirgens in San Francisco zu sehen waren. Mit dem Goethe-Institut als Veranstalter und dem wunderschönen Castro Kino als Partner boten sich ungeahnte Möglichkeiten und große Herausforderungen. Die 1500 Plätze im Castro auch nur zur Hälfte mit einem Publikum zu füllen, das weder die deutschen Schauspieler noch die Namen der Regisseure und schon gar nicht die der Regisseurinnen kannte, würde keine leichte Aufgabe sein. In den  fünfzehn Jahren, die ich mit dem Festival zu tun hatte, wuchs B&B schließlich so an, daß das Kino manchmal ausverkauft, oft voll und meistens so gut besetzt war, daß die deutschen Gäste voller Staunen waren. Und natürlich gab es unter ihnen immer mehr Frauen, oft Absolventen deutscher Filmschulen, die aufgrund einer umfangreichen Filmförderungspolitik eine erfolgreiche Zukunft im Filmgeschäft versprachen.

Amerika habe ich als Quotenland kennengelernt. Ein Filmprogramm ohne Regisseurinnen zu veranstalten, war für mich als Leiterin des Festivals undenkbar, was sich nun, viele Jahre später beim Durchblättern der Berlin & Beyond Programme bestätigt. 1996, zum Eröffnungsfestival, stand MEIN LIEBER MANN von Eva-Maria Bahlrühs auf dem Programm und schon zwei Jahre später waren vier Regisseurinnen von  insgesamt etwa zwanzig Filmemachern eingeladen. 2009 war der Anteil der Frauen auf weit über 30% gestiegen. Einige Namen tauchen immer wieder im Programm auf, wie Doris Dörrie, Barbara Albert (Österreich), Angela Schanelec und Caroline Link. Oft entpuppten sich aber kleine Filme von unbekannten Frauen als große Publikumserfolge, wie BIN ICH SCHÖN von Katinka Feistl, FRÄULEIN STINNES REIST UM DIE WELT von Erica von Möller oder Nathalie Steinbarts ENDSTATION TANKE und Birgit Möllers VALERIE, die beide mit $5000 und dem Best First Feature Award des Festivals ausgezeichnet wurden. In fünfzehn Jahren lernte das Publikum bei Berlin & Beyond über sechzig Filmemacherinnen kennen, deren Filme, bis auf wenige Ausnahmen, nicht in US Kinos gezeigt werden.  Nur Carline Link, Doris Dörrie,  Margarete von Trotta und Monika Treut, die Veteranen unter den Regisseurinnen, werden oft von US Verleihern gekauft. Gab es typisch weibliche Themen oder Sichtweisen? Gewalt, Kriegsverbrechen, die Brutalität der Neonazis waren selten ihr Fokus, vielmehr ging es um Beziehungsgeschichten,  Frauenschiksale, historische, dramatische oder romatische Stoffe. Eine Ausnahme ist Brigitte Barteles Film NACHT VOR AUGEN, der auf viel subtilere Weise als Kathryn Bigelows THE HURT LOCKER das Kriegstrauma eines Soldaten beschreibt. Bigelow bekam 2010 als erste Regisseurin einen Oscar für ihren Film.

Publikumsliebling bei Berlin & Beyond war Doris Dörrie. Wenn sie in roten Turnschuhen,  Stretchhosen und weißer Windjacke auf die Bühne sprang, jubelten die Zuschauer im vollgepackten Kino und gaben auch einem Film wie NAKED soviel Zuspruch, daß man nach zusätzlichen Beweggründen für soviel Begeisterung sucht. Der Titel half sicher und vielleicht auch ihre enge Verbindung zum Zen Center in San Francisco. Doris Dörrie und ihre Filme zogen auf jeden Fall genauso so wie Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer, Wim Wenders oder Werner Herzog, die alle bei uns zu Gast waren.

Hollywood hat mit seiner mächtigen über hundert Jahre alten Filmindustrie kaum Regisseurinnen hervorgebracht und 2010 zum ersten Mal einer Frau den Oscar für “Best Director” gegeben. Deutschland dagegen hat aufgrund seiner besseren Finanzierungspolitik den Frauen im Filmgeschäft eine viel breitere Unterstützung ermöglicht, die auch Studentenfilmen Türen öffnen und Wege bahnen kann, die zwar selten zu den Oscars, aber oft bis nach San Francisco zu Berlin & Beyond geführt haben.

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(3/20/12)

I had lunch at the Zen Center in San Francisco recently where I ran into so many German speaking people that I asked myself, is there a special relationship between Zen and Germans. What is it that attracts Germans and Swiss (I didn’t meet any Austrians) to Zen Buddhism? One of my former interns ended up at the Zen Center and part of the deal was that she could extend her stay in the US as a student of Zen. The other part was serious work from cleaning rooms, helping in the kitchen, gardening to practicing Zen from 4am to 8pm. A long hard day. My friend Bernd, trained as a modern dancer, has been a student of Zen since 1984 and spent most of those years at the Zen Center in SF. He will move back to Germany and open a center in Berlin this summer. Richard Baker, serving as the head of the ZC from 71 – 83, is now dividing his time between Colorado and in the Black Forest, Germany. I can think of many other Germans who go to ZC for practice sessions, spend a few months in Green Gulch, or, like me,  just sit for an hour in the practice room, dimly lit by candles, to start the new year in peace and quiet. Sitting is difficult when you do it so rarely and at my age. The first 15 minutes I can only think of the pain in my legs, the next 15 minutes I try to think of nothing, the mantra of sitting, and in the final stretch I forget about everything and just sit. Stephanie Levy describes a workshop that she attended in Germany as follows:

“The Zen workshop was very interesting, very disciplined, and led by a Japanese Zen master from Tokyo. It was truly a new cultural experience for me. I never thought about how certain aspects of Japanese and German culture are so similar – the love of order, punctuality, hierarchy, perfection…”

Next time I will pay more attention to order and perfection at the ZC. I love their lunch menu which is always cooked to perfection. Check it out. http://www.sfzc.org/

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(2/24/12)

Went to the Goethe-Institut last night for a book reading with Marica Bodrozic (sorry for the missing accents on the z and c) and Gregor Hens, young writers from Germany. The lounge where the reading took place had been renovated with bright colors, spotlights, a bar area, a bench with comfy pillows, all very inviting but only a handful of people showed up.

Gregor Jens read from NIKOTIN, part autobiography, part longing for the cigarettes that he had given up when he started writing the book. Why had he given up smoking, asked someone in the audience, since he had so many good things to say about it (at least in the opening chapter of the book that he read).  Marica Bodrozic read from TITO IST TOT, a collection of stories from 1998, dealing with Yugoslavia, her homeland, and the death of the dictator. In beautiful German and a beautiful melodic diction that made you wonder if the story had been translated into German, she described her grandfather and a small village in which she had grown up. Unfortunately none of these books might be published in the US – NIKOTIN, a hard sell, because the pleasures of smoking is not what smoker or non smokers want to be reminded of,  Marshall Tito, however, has become a person of enormous interest for writers and filmmakers. CINEMA KOMUNISTO (2011) is the latest documentary, I saw, about the dictator’s extravagant life style. Fascinated with celebrities and movie stars, like Richard Burton, who helped turn Tito’s own partisan battles into action thrillers, Tito was loved by many, especially his long time projectionist who showed him movies every night. So TITO IST TOT  might eventually find a way to  US bookstores. I hope so. And I can’t wait to read Marica’s other books, “das gedächtnis der libellen”, “Qittenstunden”, “Windsammler”, and more.

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(2/18/12)

UND DIE BÄREN gehen an…

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/kino/0,1518,816182,00.html

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(2/17/12)

TRANSPLANTS OF HANDS AND FACE

Just read an article in the latest NEW YORKER about the first full face transplant in the US in 2010 after only a few partial transplants had been done in France and elsewhere. An amazing story about Dallas Wiens whose photos went around the world a couple of years ago. There is nothing German about the story. The head surgeon at the Brigham grew up in the Czech Republic, French surgeons did ground breaking work in transplantation of hands and face, no German hospital was mentioned, no German surgeon – but when they talked about the first hand transplant (in 1998 in France, first kidney transplant in 1954) and the dramatic twists and turns it involved, I thought of ORLACS HÄNDE, a silent masterpiece from 1924 by Robert Wiene that foreshadows all the psychological problems of a hand transplantation. Conrad Veidt, in one of his memorable performances, portrays Orlac, the pianist, who loses his hands in a train accident and got new ones from a murderer that turned Orlac into an evil person. So sobering to hear today’s surgeons say: There is the heart, liver, brain-and the face which is skin, tissue, muscle, and blood. And those who argued that the recipients would suffer an identity crisis were wrong. Our obsession with identity goes back a long way. Before The Hands of Orlac there was Freud and long before him the Brothers Grimm. One of their fairy tales tells about three Army Surgeons (Die drei Feldscherer) who not only cut off their own heart, eyes and arms and paste them back together with a miracle ointment, but have no problem transplanting  organs of pigs and cats and the hands from a thief. The heart of the pig made the surgeon want to roll in the mud, with the cat’s eyes the second one could only see at night, and the hands of the thief turned the third one into a thief, of course.

Identity crisis after transplants today do not seem to be the biggest problem. Face-transplant recipients appear to adapt quickly, because they do not see their face constantly, says Dubernard, one of the experts. Hand transplants are much more psychologically straining, especially single hand transplants. New hands can not be easily ignored, and, unlike a double transplant, a single one makes you compare constantly. Dubernard now refuses to do single hand transplants. He would have saved Orlac.

Check out these articles

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/02/13/120213fa_fact_khatchadourian
http://www.kinoeye.org/02/04/goldberg04.php
http://www.grimmstories.com/de/grimm_maerchen/die_drei_feldscherer (in German)

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(2/12/12)

CINEQUEST in San Jose, CA and THE TIN DRUM

Thank you, Tim Griesser, for pointing out the German films that will play at Cinequest 2012 (Feb 28-Mar 11). Here they are:
ABENDLAND
KAMPF DER KÖNIGINNEN / Battle of the Queen
DICKE MÄDCHEN / Heavy Girls
HOW I WAS STOLEN BY THE GERMANS

I saw KAMPF DER KÖNIGINNEN at last year’s Berlinale and yes, go and see it even if you don’t care about cows. I grew up on a farm and love cows, those big, warm, friendly, slow animals –  remember the very long opening shot of Bela Tarr’s SATANTANGO with cows trodding through poop and mud forever? That was more like my farm life in the North German flat lands. BATTLE OF THE QUEENS is different. It’s Switzerland where in isolated valleys, surrounded by mighty mountains, cows are treated like majestic queens, pampered and groomed for the annual competition. It is not a bloody bull fight, no, as soon as one combatant turns away, the fight is over. As SF’s own Charlie Cockey puts it in his always elegantly written blurbs : “The contest is won by mere demurral… where even the losers are winners”. The film is preceded by another Swiss story, ICH BIN’S HELMUT, one of my favorite shorts that  played at B&B 2010. A great program, check it out. http://www.cinequest.org/schedule.php

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(2/10/12)

BERLINALE 2012 

If you are in Berlin right now check out the German films in the competition of the Berlinale. Three veteran filmmakers, known to San Francisco audiences from their films and visits to the Castro, present their latest works: Christian Petzold (JERICHO B&B 2009, YELLA B&B 2008, GESPENSTER/Ghosts B&B 2006, WOLFSBURG B&B 2004, just to name a few) is showing BARBARA, again starring his muse Nina Hoss, who again seems to be drifting through life — this time in East Germany in the summer of 1980. Hans-Christian Schmid’s (NACH FÜNF IM URWALD B&B 1997, LICHTER/Lights 2006, REQUIEM 2009, STURM/Storm 2009) WAS BLEIBT/Home for the Weekend, stars a.o. Lars Eidinger who played Georg Trakl in TABOO, this year’s closing night film of German Gems. The story: a family reunion in a small town outside of Berlin which ends with things falling apart. Has been done before but Christian Schmid will add new touches, I’m sure. And Matthias Glasner known for not shying away from uncomfortable topics (SEXY SADIE B&B 1997′s Opening Night film, DER FREIE WILLE/ The Free Will B&B 2007) presents GNADE/Mercy with his favorite actor, Jürgen Vogel. The story takes place high up in Norway, in winter, of course, where in a shadowy nocturnal world a melodrama unfolds. For more go to The Berlin Film Festival

and here a fantastic review (in German) of BARBARA in Spiegel Online.
Barbara review

Wish I were there…
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Thank You to all the wonderful people who helped turn my last picture show into a very memorable event. The day was packed with great films, engaging discussions, enthusiastic audiences and heart-felt farewells.
Danke für alles und bis bald im Kino.
ingrid eggers
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Saturday January 14, 2012 at the Castro
Sunday January 15, 2012 in Point Arena

The 3^rd and final edition of German Gems was a two-day showcase of new German-language films that are hard to find on any US movie screen except at the fabulous Castro Theatre.  Four narrative features and a documentary, all in German with English subtitles (with a Happy Hour squeezed in) were part of a jam-packed Kinotag, a selection of which traveled to the charming Arena Theatre on the Mendocino Coast.

All films are in German with English subtitles
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11am UNDER CONTROL Unter Kontrolle
DIR/SCR/CAM Volker Sattel with Stefan Stefanescu
Germany 2011, 98 min, 35mm
PRINT SOURCE credofilm

Gloriously shot on 35mm and Cinemascope®, UNDER CONTROL unfolds a breathtaking yet disturbing, often science fiction-like panoramic view of nuclear power plants in Germany. Volker Sattel got permission to enter control rooms, reactors and storage facilities for atomic waste where experts discuss risk management and security measures. The camera focuses on the power plant like an archeological dig that tells the history of civilization.  Reflecting on a technology that was once a synonym for progress the film traces a hidden tragedy. At the end, the power plants are deserted, and the spirit of the atom has escaped and left its mark. Variety calls UNDER CONTROL “…a monumental film on life and death of nuke plants.”

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2:15 pm WAY HOME Vergiß dein Ende
Germany 2011, 93 min, DCP
DIR Andreas Kannengießer, SCR Nico Woche, CAM Stephan Fallucchi, CAST Renate Krößner, Dieter Mann, Hermann Beyer
PRINT SOURCE HFF Potsdam

For several years Hannelore has been taking care of her husband Klaus who suffers from dementia and she has reached the end of the rope. One day, on the spur of the moment, she jumps on the train and follows her neighbor Günther, leaving her husband behind. Irritated about the stalker, Günther tries to shake Hannelore off but with no success. Together they end up on a small island and a story of two isolated, desperate people unfolds. WAY HOME is a film about two lost souls who, by helping each other, find a new beginning. With memorable performances by veteran actors like Renate Krößner, known from the 1980 DEFA classic SOLO SUNNY.

Andreas Kannengiesser (will attend the screening)
was born in 1978 in Nordhausen and grew up on Ruegen. Before enrolling at the Film & Television Academy in Potsdam in 2004, he worked as a garbage collector, a dental technician and then as an intern at the North German Broadcasting Service (NDR).  His work as assistant director includes KROKO (B&B 2005) and DETROIT (2004). PLANET CARLOS (2008) and WAY HOME are his directorial debuts.

Preceded by
FLAMINGO PRIDE by Tomer Eshed
Animation, 6 min, 35mm

Buy tickets for WAY HOME and FLAMINGO PRIDE
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4:30 pm ABOVE US ONLY SKY Über uns das All
Germany 2011, 88 min, 35mm,
DIR/SCR Jan Schomburg CAM Marc Comes CAST Sandra Hüller, Georg Friedrich
PRINT SOURCE Bavaria Film International

Martha’s well-balanced life comes to a sudden halt when she finds out that Paul, the man she loves and has been living with for several years, disappeared without a trace. When the police knocks at her door to identify him, she looses her grip on everything that has existed. Is Paul the man the police has found? Was he a phantom?  A lie? As Martha tries to cope with the loss, she meets Alexander who reminds her of Paul. But can he fill the gap?  Probing deep into the mind and heart of a woman who is desperately trying to hold on to a broken life, Jan Schomburg’ intense feature debut has been described as suspenseful thriller, and a powerful story about coming to terms with loss. A genuine highlight of the 2011 Berlinale with an extraordinary performance by Sandra Hüller.

Jan Schomburg (will attend the screening)
Born in Aachen in 1976. After studying visual communications in the film and television department at Kassel College of Art he graduated in film directing from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). In 2008 he was awarded a fellowship to study at the Andrzej Wajda Film School in Warsaw. After making several short films, some of which won awards (NEVER EVEN B&B 2005), ÜBER UNS DAS ALL marks his theatrical feature debut. He lives in Cologne.

Buy tickets for ABOVE US ONLY SKY
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7:30 pm WESTWIND
Germany, Hungary 2011, 89 min, 35mm
DIR Robert Thalheim, SCR Ilja Haller, Susann Schimk, CAST Friederike Becht, Luise Heyer, Franz Dinda, Volker Bruch
PRINT SOURCE Betafilm

It is 1988, a year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and inseparable 17-year-old twins Doreen and Isabel from East Germany spend a summer at Lake Balaton in Hungary. The twins are decorated oarswomen sent by their country to Soviet satellite states like Hungary to bring home trophies. Hungary’s borders are porous and West Germans can visit Lake Balaton.  When Doreen falls for Arne, a West German tourist from Hamburg, the twin’s well-structured summer begins to crumble. Risking a promising career as a rower and the twin’s close relationship, Doreen will destroy everything that the twins have lived for if she follows her heart across the borders to West Germany. Based on true events, Robert Thalheim’s third feature paints a beautiful, engaging picture of first love on the backdrop of harsh political realities.

Robert Thalheim
Born in 1974 in Berlin, Thalheim was an assistant director at the Berlin Ensemble before he began in 2000 to study directing at the Filmhochschule Potsdam-Babelsberg. His debut film NETTO (2004) won several awards (Best First Feature at B&B 2006). His second feature AND ALONG COME TOURISTS (Am Ende kommen Touristen, B&B 2008), shot on location in Auschwitz, was invited to the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

Actress Friederike Becht will attend the screening

Buy tickets for WESTWIND
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9:30pm TABOO-THE SOUL IS A STRANGER ON EARTH Tabu – Es ist die Seele ein Fremdes auf Erden
Tabu-ES ist die Seele ein Fremdes auf Erden
Germany, Austria, Luxembourg 2011, 94 min, DCP
DIR Christoph Stark CAST Peri Baumeister, Lars Eidinger
PRINT SOURCE Eclypse Filmpartner

Vienna at the turn of the century. Splendor. Glamour. Facades. Pretense. Behind it is insecurity, melancholy, suicides, rumors, and sex, with Freud the analyst, Karl Kraus the satirist, and Schnitzler, Klimt and Schiele, the documentarians of sexuality. This is the background to the story of two solitary children who go from clinging to each other for companionship to becoming soulmates, then lovers; and no one can tear them apart. They are Georg and Margarete Trakl, the great expressionist poet and his sister Grete, his muse, his love. Based less on historical facts than on Trakl’s poems that show his deep connection with his sister, the film portrays “… the wild, consuming passion and longing which is so magnificently reflected in the dark and powerful imagery of Georg Trakl’s poetry,” says director Christoph Stark. Shot on location in Vienna and Luxembourg by award-winning DP Bogumi Godfrejow (REQUIEM & STURM) the film is a radical portrait of a forbidden love, so engaging and absorbing that we long for its fulfillment.

Co-presented by the San Francisco Film Society

Preceded by
MARLENE’S BERLIN by Jerry Ross Barrish

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Buy tickets for ALL 3 GERMAN GEMS at the Arena Theatre

2pm WAY HOME Vergiß dein Ende
Germany 2011, 93 min
DIR Andreas Kannengießer will be at the Q & A

Preceded by
FLAMINGO PRIDE (2011, 6 min)
by Tomer Eshed

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4pm ABOVE US ONLY SKY Über uns das All
Germany 2011, 88 min
DIR/SCR Jan Schomburg will be at the Q & A

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7:30pm WESTWIND
Germany, Hungary 2011, 89 min
DIR Robert Thalheim
Friederike Becht (actress) will be at the Q & A

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