German Film @ Canada - Goethe-Institut

Over a dozen features will make up the European Union Film Festival 2020 this November, with the German opening night film presented by the Embassy and Consulates of the Federal Republic of Germany in Canada & the Goethe-Institut Toronto.

The European Union Film Festival Toronto, the Canadian Film Institute, and the Cinematheque in Vancouver have joined forces with the Delegation of the European Union and the embassies, consulates, and cultural institutes of all EU Member States to present the first-ever online edition of the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) in Canada. Continue reading "EU Film Festival goes Canada-wide & digital..." »

Actress Sandra Hüller stars in Los Banditos' music video "Wedding in Bistritja" from their 2002 album Opiumparty. The surf band from Jena, Germany, is inspired by the East German Big Beat bands of the early 1960s. This mixture is produced on original vintage GDR equipment: Musima de Luxe guitar, Musima Brillant 76 bass and Weltmeister T/O 200.5 organ.

With her debut album "Be Your Own Prince“ (Kreisler/Akkerbouw Records), Berlin actress Sandra Hüller offers us an opportunity to use our ears over our eyes, luring us into the molded and emotionalized realities of an experimental singer-songwriter.

Let us try to forget what we know about one of the most forceful German actresses of the last decade and take a look at the fact that Hüller simply enjoys singing. This is nothing new, or a role she is playing, but a passion that has been with her forever. What has changed is her decision to let us listen.

So who is it exactly that we are lending our ears to? Continue reading "SANDRA HÜLLER – Be Your Own Prince album review" »

Actress Sandra Hüller, repeatedly starring in music videos, released her own alternative indie debut mini album "Be Your Own Prince" in July 2020 on Akkerbouw and Kreismusik (album review to follow next!). Hüller again proves to be "The One", as her single release promises:

"Don't" starring Sandra Hüller, from Daniel Freitag's album "Still" Continue reading "Hüller in short: Don't (Daniel Freitag)" »

With the TIFF Lightbox not reopening in October because of the current Covid situation, our GOETHE FILMS series "Lose My Self - A Portrait of Sandra Hüller" planned for October 20+22+26 can unfortunately not go ahead. As much as we love cinema, Toronto's arts organisations are doing their best to keep their staff and audiences safe. GOETHE FILMS will be back with more contemporary German cinema in 2021 - meanwhile, over the next two weeks, we will share our Sandra Hüller online content with you, starting with her music video for German indie stars The Notwist.

The Notwist - Where In This World from mrks.16 on Vimeo.

Continue reading "Hüller in short: Where in this World? (The..." »

Toronto filmmaker Stephanie Weimar spent the summer locking her documentary TV series "Writing the Land" (produced by Primitive Entertainment for CBC Arts and Arte/ZDF). October is the big month for the project we've been following for a year: International audiences are about to see "Writing the Land".

Jutta Brendemuhl: Congratulations, your Canadian-German literary doc series “Writing the Land” will have its European premiere on Arte TV on Oct 4, 11, and 18, in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair, the biggest literary market in the world. Where will you be, how will you watch and celebrate?

Stephanie Weimar: It’s become rather low key and a bit anti-climactic to be honest. All summer I had made peace with the fact that Canada’s status as Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair was postponed to 2021. I thought I had completely adjusted to not going to Germany this fall and not celebrating with my team and all the writers at the Fair. But now that the date is coming up I’m getting sad again. Obviously, in the big scheme of things I really cannot complain and I don’t. It’s a just a bit of disappointment that remains.

Still, it is very exciting that “Writing the Land” will have its German premiere this coming weekend on Arte. I’ve sent emails to all my friends, family and colleagues in Germany to alert them to the broadcast. The series’ German title is “Kanada - Literatur im Aufbruch”, which is difficult to translate and keep the full meaning intact. It literally means “literature in a state of departure” but the word “Aufbruch” has a lot of connotations that are getting lost in this literal translation. I really like the word “Aufbruch.” It speaks to old and crusty things breaking up and making space for the new. The static is giving way to movement. The word implies change and a sense of adventure. Leaving for the unknown. Continue reading "The Making of: "Writing the Land"..." »

A year into our series "The Making of" Berlin director Konstantin Bock's feature film "The Ice King", I caught up with Konstantin while he was in Venice in September —see the camper van they bought to drive down from Berlin— for the premiere of his husband, cinematographer Christopher Aoun's new feature "The Man Who Sold His Skin." The drama is directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, starring Monica Bellucci, and went on to win the Inclusion Award as well as Best Actor in the Orrizonti section. Bock also used the Venice Festival to promote "The Ice King”, which recently received script funding from the German Federal Film Board FFA.

Congratulations on securing major funding to move ahead towards pre-production for “The Ice King”! What will the fall bring?
We were very anxious to see how Covid-19 would affect the funding situation this year, and it’s true that the number of script submissions has gone up after the lockdown. So we were even more honoured to be among one of the selected projects to receive funding from the FFA to write our script. We applied with the treatment that we spoke about last time and got very encouraging feedback. As much as a treatment is a way for us to figure out the story, Continue reading "THE MAKING OF: "THE ICE KING"..." »

Not a bad year for Sandra Hüller, who won Theatre Actress of the Year and the German Cross of Merit in 2020. GOETHE FILMS is back in real life at TIFF Bell Lightbox in October with a mid-career retrospective of one of Europe's most versatile actors. Program details here. Read my TIFF16 "Toni Erdmann" review to get in the mood!

Since the TIFF Lightbox will not reopen this October due to the current Covid situation, our GOETHE FILMS series "Lose My Self - A Portrait of Sandra Hüller" planned for October 20+22+26 can unfortunately not go ahead. As much as we love cinema, Toronto's arts organisations are doing their best to keep their staff and audiences safe. GOETHE FILMS will be back with more contemporary German cinema in 2021. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding, and we look forward to reconnecting with you in cinema soon!

With the figures for the first half of 2020 in, the central German film funding body FFA presents the interim status of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the German film industry. After the attendance and sales results in January (10.6 million / €93.6 million) and February (10.1 million / €82.5 million) were on par with the previous year, from mid-March the industry experienced an unprecedented slump with cinema closings and production standstill due to the lockdown. From the middle of May, a few theatres opened under strict distancing and hygiene rules. Due to the required low occupancy rates, profitable operations were nearly impossible. In addition, the releases of many films were postponed.

In the first half of 2020, cinema attendance fell by 52% Continue reading "Figures: Covid impact on German film industry" »