German Film @ Canada - Goethe-Institut

Filming began on September 14, 2015 and ended on November 13 around Berlin and Leipzig. The crew had five Ladas that had been rebuilt specifically for the purposes of the film. One was kept purely for spare parts.

This was the first film shoot for Anand Batbileg, who plays Tschick, one of the two young stars of Fatih Akin's road movie GOODBYE BERLIN that the Goethe-Institut Toronto is bringing to the EUFFTO 2017 as a Canadian premiere. One of the most important decisions Akin made was to adapt the book authentically, meaning with 14-year-old stars. "I wanted young faces that would look all wrong behind a steering wheel. You had to believe that they were constantly afraid of getting caught." He also hired his friend and mentor Hark Bohm on as creative consultant and co-author. In the 1970s, Bohm directed two films about adolescents, "North Sea is Dead Sea" (1976) and "Moritz Dear Moritz" (1977), whose authenticity and frankness struck a nerve at the time and nowadays are considered classics.

Anand's father had printed out the casting call for him and put it in his room. It wasn't until weeks later that Anand found it, auditioned successfully, and was taught to drive by one of the stuntmen. His thoughts on Tschick? "He comes off as mysterious at first. You think he's the type of guy who's not going to make it very far in life. But then he turns out to be really nice and smart." This character development really appealed to him. As for the director, Anand says, "Fatih is really funny. A bit of a kid, I guess."
Continue reading "GOODBYE BERLIN: Fast Friends (& win DVD)" »

While his mother is in rehab and his father is on a 'business trip' with his assistant, 14-year-old outsider Maik is spending the summer holidays bored and alone at his parents' villa, when rebellious teenager Tschick appears. Tschick, a Russian immigrant and an outcast, steals a car and decides to set off on a journey away from Berlin, with Maik tagging along for the ride. So begins a wild adventure where the two experience the trip of a lifetime and share a summer that they will never forget.

"As soon as I discovered the novel, I was hooked," is how Fatih Akin (Soul Kitchen, Head-On) describes Wolfgang Herrndorf's bestseller Why We Took the Car, which has excited over 2 million readers and won multiple awards. The "best summer ever" will have its Canadian premiere at EUFFTO 2017, as GOODBYE BERLIN, a witty, poetic film featuring newcomer Anand Batbileg as the novel's hero Tschick, Tristan Gobel (WEST) as Maik. The adaptation of the bestseller was filmed on location in Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt and is Fatih Akin’s first film adaption of a book.

Where did you first come across the book by Berlin author Wolfgang Herrndorf, Why We Took the Car?

Fatih Akin: I was at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2011 presenting the book Im Clinch: The Story of my Films. Continue reading "Never say never. A conversation with Fatih Akin..." »

The European Union Film Festival Toronto, founded at the Goethe-Institut 12 years ago, is now presenting the best of European cinema year round at the Royal Theatre. In our inaugural year, we're taking you back to 1989 with Wolfgang Becker's Oscar-nominated comedy-drama GOOD BYE, LENIN!, which catapulted a young Daniel Brühl to instant fame. Just recently, the story of a throw-back to communist-era East Germany has been repeating itself in real life:


A retirement home in Dresden has recreated a corner of the former communist East Germany in a bid to help residents with Alzheimer’s. Several rooms at the Alexa Seniors’ Residence have been redecorated with garish 70s wallpaper and clunky furniture from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The home’s management have scoured flea markets and eBay for communist-era bric-a-brac, including unwieldy portable cassette players, outdated cookers and a giant bread-slicer. The home even runs its own small shop, selling residents everyday products from the era, while a photograph of Erich Honecker, the general secretary of the East German communist party looks on. Continue reading "GOOD BYE, LENIN! live: Dresden retirement home..." »

It's nice when 400 viewers at Toronto's Royal Cinema love a film so much that they vote to make it the EUFFTO's most popular. It's as nice when the well-known Hamburg director is happy to accept that audience award for his film HEAD FULL OF HONEY, programmed and presented by the Goethe-Institut as a Toronto premiere, and sends a little thank-you note -- while shooting his next film and preparing for HEAD FULL OF HONEY's remake with Michael Douglas: