German Film @ Canada - Goethe-Institut

An ongoing series of mini profiles on the blog German Film @ Canada on the movers and shakers that make the Berlinale one of the most important events in the international film calendar: the filmmakers, programmers, curators, industry promoters and fans, from rookies to veterans.

Name & role: Dr. Simone Emmelius, Senior Vice President International Fiction - Coproduction & Acquisitions; previously head of ZDFneo, ZDFinfokanal, ZDFdokukanal, and multimedia; board member of the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems

This is my 2nd Berlinale for ZDF as Senior Vice President International Fiction.

ZDF is the Berlinale’s main sponsor. What’s your broadcaster’s interest in the festival, and what opportunities does it give you as head of international fiction?
For the national public broadcaster in Germany, it’s not only a “must”, it’s an affair of the heart to be committed to the Berlinale – and by the way, ZDF is media partner for the 17th time. Continue reading "Berlinale People: Simone Emmelius, ZDF" »

During the TIFF19 world premiere of Ina Weisse’s THE AUDITION, I was sitting next to Canadian playwright-mathematician John Mighton, the author of The Myth of Ability, who argues that we are all born capable of learning anything. Throughout this family drama, I kept thinking about what that looks like here, especially when Nina Hoss in her role as a driven music teacher fights with her student about the relationship between quantity of practice and the intensity of playing.

At the advanced and demanding music school Anna teaches at, most colleagues administer their students and their art form. Anna burns for her work. And her new violin student Alexander. Too much as it turns out. Continue reading "#TIFF19 #review: The Audition" »

The theme for this year’s array of #German films at #TIFF14 could have been Hot Young Actors, and they all came, to the delight of fans: Tom Schilling, Elyas M'Barek, Hannah Herzsprung, Alexander Fehling, Florian David Fitz. The mainstream selection of German features definitely had a definite TV movie feel to it, but that is not necessarily a swear word these days. The shining directorial star was without doubt Berlin's Christian Petzold, who delivered with "Phoenix" and stands --together with his "muse", actor Nina Hoss-- heads above most other films I saw (and was very well-received and well-reviewedand sold to the North American market within days, so you will get to see it in theatres soon). You heard it here first: The next (2016) #Petzold film will be treatment of Anna Seghers' book "Transit".

Here's my #TIFF14 flashback in tweets:

German themes 2014:
+++ Watch & compare @tiff.net: PHOENIX + LABYRINTH OF LIES: echoes of Holocaust in post-war #Germany.

+++ Euthanasia featured prominently -and delicately- (after last year's "Amour") with "Tour de Force" & "The Farewell Party".

+++ New German Wave: the well-made #thriller: #WhoAmI @BaranboOdar

Winners & Losers: Continue reading "#TIFF14 Flashback in Tweets" »

The Berlinale 2013 is over, the circus is moving on (Cannes, Venice, then TIFF). Until then, here’s what I am keeping an eye on in production:

For starters, 3x Wenders: About to launch, his portrait of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgad called SHADE AND LIGHT. Announced for next year, CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE, a documentary TV series in 3D and 2D about the soul of buildings, by a team of six award-winning filmmakers including Wim Wenders and produced by his Neue Road Movies. “If buildings could talk, what would they tell about us?” is the guiding question that clearly harks back to Wenders’ 3D video installation for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010 of the same name.
And of course, in Canada, we are eagerly awaiting news on Wim’s next (3D) feature EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE with Sarah Polley, still in pre-production.

Continue reading "German films in production" »