After mixed reviews for his Armenian drama “The Cut” this summer, Hamburg’s Fatih Akin is busy working on his next film, “Aus dem Nichts” (roughly “From Nothing”), a film which targets social exclusion and radicalization. This will likely land him in no less trouble than a contentious genocide film: his new protagonist is heavily overweight Ilias, an outsider who falls in with left-wing radicals and begins to plan a bloody attack.
Christoph Hochhäusler‘s new German-French thriller “Die Lügen des Siegers“ (“The Winner’s Lies”), featuring an ambitious investigative journalist who gets tangled up in a web of lies and deceit, should be out before the Berlinale. The Berlinale, coming up in February, could be a big one for German film if both Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog finish their films -- “Everything Will Be Fine” and “Queen of the Desert“ respectively—which weren’t ready in time for the fall festival circuit.
Austrian master Michael Haneke also tackles a media-critical topic that couldn’t be farther from his usual fare. In “Flashmob”, a French production, he “explores the fragile relationship between media and reality”, following a handful of people who connect via the Internet, then unite in a flash mob. The project is being held up though because Haneke’s unnamed number 1 choice for lead actress isn’t available at the moment - and because he hasn’t decided on his aesthetic approach, Sight & Sound reported.
Director Uli Edel of “The Baader Meinhof Complex“ fame will be back in 2015, Continue reading "Waltz & Brühl go bad, Ganz does good: New..." »
