German Currents 2024

German Currents 2024
October 11 - October 14, 2024

More than just a series of film screenings, the German Currents Film Festival is a platform for cultural exchange, connecting German films and filmmakers with the greater Los Angeles community. The 18th annual festival takes place from October 11th – 14th  with screenings at the American Cinematheque and the Goethe-Institut.

German Currents 2024 opens Friday, October 11th, at the Egyptian Theatre, with the exclusive red-carpet LA premiere of WHEN WILL IT BE AGAIN LIKE IT NEVER WAS BEFORE (Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war). This festival favorite by multi-award-winning writer-director Sonja explores the concepts of normality, mental illness, and a hilariously chaotic family life. The film starrs Devid Striesow (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, THE COUNTERFEITERS, AGE OF CANNIBALS), who shines in his role as director of a psychiatric hospital. A gala reception at the Egyptian Theatre will follow the premiere.

The festival weekend continues with the US premiere of the popular short film showcase NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2024; the US premiere of director Sarah Neumann’s feature-length film debut, BEYOND THE BLUE BORDER (Jenseits der blauen Grenze), based on Dorit Linke’s best-selling novel and starring Lena Urzendowsky (FRANKY FIVE STAR, Netflix’s DARK, and HOW TO SELL DRUGS ONLINE (Fast)), and writer-director Fabian Stumm’s feature-length film debut, BONES AND NAMES (Knochen und Namen), all presented at the Goethe-Institut.

At the American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz 3 theater, German Currents presents the LA premiere of multi-award-winning cinematographer-director Judith Kaufmann and director Georg Maas’s historical drama THE GLORY OF LIFE (Die Herrlichkeit des Lebens), capturing the final year and romance in the life of writer Franz Kafka, as well as US premiere of writer-director Aslı Özarslan’s ELBOW (Ellbogen), based on the novel “Ellbogen” by Fatma Aydemir. 

Completing the festival program, the annual German Currents children’s matinee returns to the Goethe-Institut on Sunday, October 13th, with a free LA Premiere screening of writer-director Soleen Yusef’s winner of the German Film Award for best Youth and Children’s Film, WINNERS (Sieger sein), that will also be presented as a special invite-only educational screening for LA area schools on Monday, October 14th, at the Gardena Cinema. A discussion with Soleen Yusef following both events is planned.

For more information and to register for complimentary tickets to this year’s screenings, please click the following link: www.germancurrents.com

The German Currents Film Festival 2024 is a co-production of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the American Cinematheque, and is presented in kind cooperation with the German Consulate General, and with the support of Condor, The Friends of Goethe, ELMA, The Villa Aurora, and the German Film Office.