German Currents 2015

9th German Film Festival in Los Angeles

Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - October 22-25, 2015

Presented by BMW, German Currents is a co-production of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the American Cinémathèque, in cooperation with the German Consulate General, the Austrian Consulate General and the Consulate General of Switzerland, with the support of German Films, Deutsche Welle and the Friends of Goethe.


THURSDAY, OCT. 22 at 7:00 PM

WE ARE YOUNG. WE ARE STRONG.     
WIR SIND JUNG. WIR SIND STARK.

2014, 116 min, Germany, Dir: Burhan Qurbani

                

Three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, anti-immigrant attacks targeting a refugee shelter on the outskirts of the former East German city of Rostock culminated in the notorious “Night of Fire.” Following three days of violence, nearly 3,000 rioters, neo-Nazis and bystanders set fire to the shelter, trapping Vietnamese refugees and a group of journalists inside. Qurbani’s controversial film recounts the hours leading up to the evening’s startling events as experienced by three very different characters: Lien, a Vietnamese immigrant; Stefan, an insecure young rioter; and Stefan’s father Martin, an ambitious local politician. Qurbani meticulously re-creates the look and feel of the era, when many East German cities struggled with unemployment and feelings of isolation from the West, exposing the complex issue of xenophobia in a country thought to have been healed by German reunification. In German with English subtitles.


FRIDAY, OCT. 23 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

JACK

2014, 103 min, Germany, Dir: Edward Berger

 

                

Ten-year-old Jack (Ivo Pietzcker) is frequently left alone by his loving but hopelessly incompetent young mother (Luise Heyer). Forced to care for himself and his 6-year-old half-brother, Manuel (Georg Arms), for extended periods of time, Jack selflessly acts as the head of the household. When Manuel is accidentally injured, Jack is blamed and is placed in a long-term foster care facility, leaving Manuel with their mother. Homesick and bullied by other children, Jack decides to escape and head home to Berlin, only to find that what little order he had established has crumbled. Once again abandoned, the boys take to the streets on a desperate odyssey to find not only their mother but a sense of stability. Co-written by Nele Mueller-Stöfen, Berger’s screenplay and precise direction coax refreshingly unaffected performances from the two child actors. Cinematographer Jens Harant’s camera provides essential gritty realism, capturing the city from the unique vantage point of the lonely boys. In German with English subtitles.

SCHMITKE

2014, 90 min, Germany/Czech Republic, Dir: Stepán Altrichter

                

Like his once state-of-the-art C 174 wind turbine, 57-year-old German engineer Julius Schmitke (Peter Kurth) is past his prime. Intrigued by reports of a hermit known as “Bear-Man” found living alone in the woods, Schmitke begins to dream of deep, dark forests. When a model C 174 breaks down outside a small Czech town on the German border, Schmitke and his subordinate Gruber are sent to repair it, encountering an odd assortment of townspeople and the impenetrable Ore Mountain forest. After Gruber mysteriously vanishes, Schmitke is drawn to the woods. Katharina Grischkowski’s extraordinary sound design contrasts the creaking of the C 174 with the eerie stillness of the forest, heightening the surreal atmosphere provided by Christian Pirjol’s haunting cinematography. Altrichter, who also co-wrote the screenplay, deftly balances the bizarre and the beautiful in this desolate, deadpan comic mystery. In German and Czech with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, OCT. 24 at 5:30 PM

WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE

WHO AM I – KEIN SYSTEM IST SICHER

2014, 110 min, Germany, Dir: Baran bo Odar

                

Young Berlin computer whiz Ben (Tom Schilling) feels more at home in the virtual world than he does in the real one. When the charismatic and revolutionary hacker Max (Elyas M’Barek) asks Ben to put his skills to use and “hack the world,” they form the collective “CLAY” (Clowns Laughing at You). Instead of lofty political goals, the group shocks the world with humor and guerrilla-style pranks. As the team’s popularity drives them to take bigger, bolder risks, they soon attract the attention of the German Secret Service. Just as Ben begins to feel as if he finally belongs somewhere, he’s forced to figure out how to escape not only from law enforcement but from his dangerous new friends. This stylish, surprising and exceptionally timely cyber-thriller moves seamlessly between the real and the virtual, leaving the audience guessing long after the film is over. In German with English subtitles.


SATURDAY, OCT. 24 at 8:30 PM

B-MOVIE: LUST & SOUND IN WEST BERLIN

2015, 92 min, Germany, Dir: Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck, Heiko Lange

                

Narrated by music producer Mark Reeder, this essay film is a fast-paced collage of film and TV footage, photos, original interviews and dramatized scenes of the music, art and chaos in West Berlin of the 1980s. The walled-in city was a melting pot for avant-garde and pop cultures unlike anywhere else in Europe, attracting squatters, artists, musicians and world-famous celebrities alike. After leaving Manchester, England, for Berlin in 1979, Reeder found himself at the center of this dynamic cultural hub, crossing paths with such artists as Joy Division, Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten), Nick Cave, Nena and Christiane F. An intimate portrait of the constantly changing cultural constellations of the city, from the Geniale Dilletanten to the Love Parade, ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In German and English with English subtitles.

SUNDAY, OCT. 25 at 4:00 PM

AGE OF CANNIBALS

ZEIT DER KANNIBALEN

2013, 93 min, Germany, Dir: Johannes Naber

                

While advising companies on how to maximize profits, cutthroat business consultants Öllers and Niederländer insulate themselves from the dangerous locations where they do business by hunkering down in their various 5-star hotels. When the newly hired Bianca is sent to assist in negotiations, her constant critique of her colleagues’ unscrupulous behavior is unsettling to the executives, who pride themselves on their ability to remain emotionally disconnected. The protagonists reach grotesque extremes within the walls of their hotel, giving Stefan Weigl’s screenplay the feel of a chamber play that’s both darkly comedic and a stinging indictment of contemporary global economics. In German and English with English subtitles.


SUNDAY, OCT. 25 at 6:30 PM - Double Feature!

DORA OR THE SEXUAL NEUROSES OF OUR PARENTS

DORA ODER DIE SEXUELLEN NEUROSEN UNSERER ELTERN

2015, 90 min, Switzerland/Germany, Dir: Stina Werenfels

                

Mentally disabled Dora (Victoria Schulz) has spent much of her 18 years under psychotropic sedation. When her mother, Kristin (Jenny Schily), decides to stop the medication, Dora’s world opens and she begins a relationship with an unscrupulous perfume salesman (Lars Eidinger) eager to take advantage of her newfound lust for life. Dora’s parents are horrified by her relationship and eventual pregnancy, but are determined to both protect their daughter and allow her to make her own choices as an adult. In adapting Lukas Bärfuss’ challenging play, director Stina Werenfels and co-writer Boris Treyer emphasize the parallel struggles of both mother and daughter, examining broader issues of female sexuality and motherhood. Lukas Strebel’s camerawork earned a Cinelab Award for its innovative use of Dora’s point of view. In German with English subtitles.

GRUBER IS LEAVING

GRUBER GEHT

2015, 104 min, Austria, Dir: Marie Kreutzer

                

John Gruber (Manuel Rubey) is the epitome of arrogance; between business trips, nightclubs and countless one-night stands, the dry-witted cynic has little left for anyone else, and that’s how he likes it. But Berlin-based DJ Sarah (Bernadette Heerwagen) turns his self-centered world on its head when, after their night together, she reads him the diagnosis of his recent stomach problems – a tumor. Gruber’s façade quickly crumbles, and with a new regimen of chemotherapy and a growing infatuation with Sarah, Gruber slowly begins to drop his guard. But will he really change? Kreutzer’s faithful adaptation of Doris Knecht’s best-selling novel is strengthened by cinematographer Leena Koppe’s ability to capture Gruber’s darkly comical transition from distant loner to a man finding himself. In German with English subtitles.