Archive 2009
New German Films - Programme
13 SemesterDirector: Frieder Wittich, D 2008, 97 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Max Riemelt, Robert Gwisdek, Claudia Eisinger
Momo and Dirk leave their Brandenburg province to study economics and maths at Darmstadt university. While Dirk becomes an academic high-flier, Momo dedicates himself to student life. Between partying with his happy-go-lucky flatmate Bernd and attempting to attract his dream woman Kerstin, he finally goes off track. With the help of his new friend Aswin, Momo tries to pull himself together and find a place in life.
This film also takes part in the "Kinema"-competition.
Bergfest
Director: Florian Eichinger, D 2008, 89 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Anna Brüggemann, Peter Kurth, Martin Schleiss
A weekend in the Alps. The 25-year-old Hannes, an actor, and fiancée Ann are looking forward to a few relaxing days alone in Hannes's family's mountain cabin. Unexpectedly they meet Hannes's father (a successful stage director) and much younger girlfriend Lavinia there, resulting in an intense psychological game developing in which both women become more and more involved.
Diamantenhochzeit
Director: Michael Kupczyk, D 2009, 84 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Jörg Pohl, Anja Franke, Dietrich Hollinderbäumerh
Sabine and Jürgen wedding is supposed to be the happiest day in their lives but when Jürgen’s father kills a diamond-carrying courier by mistake, a wild chase ensues... a highspeed black comedy in real time.
Die Anwälte - Eine deutsche Geschichte
Director: Birgit Schulz, D 2009, 92 min, 35 mm, GV
Thirty years ago lawyers Otto Schily, Hans-Christian Ströbele and Horst Mahler were prominent advocates of the German left. The film shows how each of them subsequently took a different political path, with Schily and Ströbele becoming long-serving members of parliament in a unified Germany.
Die Liebe der Kinder
Director: Franz Müller, D 2009, 84 min, 35mm, colour, GV
Actors: Marie-Lou Sellem, Alexander Brendemühl, Katharina Derr
Two single parents in their mid-forties, Maren and Robert, get to know each other through the internet, and then move together with their two children, Mira and Daniel. When the two children also fall in love, then then they question the relationship of their parents who in turn begin to have their own doubts. Tensions increase when the two children want to marry and Maren starts an affair.
Draussen am See
Director: Felix Fuchssteiner, D 2009, 105 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Elisa Schlott, Michael Lott, Petra Kleinert, Sina Tkotsch
“Families are artificially created biotopes – if the basic temperature changes, then everything gets out of balance and all living things in them perish”. Fuchssteiner’s melancholy debut film tells about personal conflicts away from the noisy world, out at the lake.
14-year-old Jessica grows up in a harmonious family environment but experiences how this structure spins out of balance through external influences and internal conflicts. Jessica, experiencing her first sexual encounters and love, is unable to prevent this disintegration and is in danger of being stifled.
This film also takes part in the "Kinema"-competition.
Lost Town
Director: Jörg Adolph, D 2009, 90 min, 35mm, colour, GV
Actors: Anne Niemann, Johannes Ingrisch
This documentary shows two German architects‘ five-year battle for their project - polished steel sculptures to remind us of the churches of Dunwich, a British East coast town now submerged by the sea. Obstacles encountered include local opposition to the project, bureaucrats, and lack of funds.
Lourdes
Director: Jessica Hausner, D/F/A 2009, 99 min, 35 mm, colour, GV/GS
Actors: Sylvie Testud, Lea Seydoux, Gilette Barbier,Elina Löwensohn, Bruno Todeschini, Gerhard Liebmann
Christine is a young paralysed woman on the way to Lourdes. Although she is very sceptic towards “miracle-healing”, she is encouraged by the wish to stop the lonelyness due to her illness. She wants to be part of normal life. Through Christine’s eyes we get impressions of an ambivalent world of miracles, hope and pain...
Soul Kitchen
Director: Fatih Akin, D 2009, 99 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Anna Bederke
Pub owner, Zinos, is an unlucky person: first, his girlfriend leaves for Shanghai, then he gets a slipped disc. When he hires a top chef, the customers suddenly stop coming and then into the bargain his criminal brother turns up. But all of a sudden the exotic menu and his music begin to attract the in-crowd more and more. Everything seems destined for success when events come thick and fast...
This is Love
Director: Matthias Glasner, D 2009, 110 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Corinna Harfouch, Jens Albinus, Jürgen Vogel
Chris, together with Holger, has bought a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl her freedom from traffickers – but did not pay the money so they are on the run from the Mafia. Maggie, a police inspector, finds out after 16 years why her husband left her without a word. Maggie and Chris’s paths cross and intertwine when she interrogates him for murder.
THIS IS LOVE is a moving film about unfulfilled love.
66/67 - Fairplay war gestern
Director: Carsten Ludwig/Jan-Christoph Glaser, D 2008, 118 min, 35 mm, colour, GV
Actors: Maxim Mehmet, Christian Ahlers, Fabian Hinrichs, Christoph Bach, Melika Foroutan
For six young men the fan club of local soccer club Eintracht Braunschweig, is the center of their life and their friendship. 66/67, the name of their club, recalls the year when Eintracht Braunschweig won the German championship. The six not only carry a 66/67 branding as a symbol of unconditionless loyalty, they also celebrate the violence of the “third half” after the final whistle. The group faces starts to dissolve when some can no longer deny that each of them has his invidual problems that lie outside the stadium. They come to realize that it is not their club but themselves who are about to confront their biggest challenge.