It’s getting cold outside, which must mean that it’s time to order a nice red wine, some buttery popcorn and cosy up with your friends to see the best of German cinema.
Hosted by Palace Cinemas, The German Film Festival will once again screen the best of German language feature films from Austria, Switzerland and of course Germany! With a record 29 Australian premieres, there’s something for all tastes.
From thrillers and historical productions to feel-good comedies, this year’s films will amuse, inspire and entertain. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall with a programme strand “Tear Down The Walls.”
Have little children? Or are you a child at heart? “Kino for Kids” is showcasing six films for younger audiences and families.
Here are out top picks for this years German Film Festival.
25KM/H
This is a crowd-pleaser, and a great introduction to German cinema for people that still believe that the people of this country have no sense of humour!
Estranged brothers Christian and Georg haven’t seen each other for 20 years. Their father’s funeral reunites them, and at the wake, the two drunkenly decide to realise their boyhood dream of driving across Germany on their mopeds. So begins a journey from the Black Forrest to the Baltic Sea – never faster than 25 Km/h, but always full of sex, drugs & Ping Pong. From exciting highs to comically dramatic lows, their incredible adventures and encounters will reconnect the brothers and give them the opportunity to rediscover themselves.
Balloon
The opening night film, Balloon is about a daring mission against the backdrop of the Cold War.
1979, East Germany at the height of the Cold War. Günter Wetzel, a bricklayer, and his friend Peter Strelzyk, an electrician, can no longer bear the oppressive regime. The two men and their wives resolve to undertake a mission to secretly build a hot air balloon from scratch that will carry them and their families over the border fence to freedom. Over the course of the next 18 months they sew 1,000 square metres of cloth and gather countless weather reports from West German radio with the Stasi (State Police) hot on their heels.
Bauhaus Spirit: 100 Years of Bauhaus
100 years ago, a radical artistic utopia was born in Germany that still shapes the way designers and architects create work today.
From the very beginning, Bauhaus architects and artists, including Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, asked: How should we live together? What does “living together” mean? How can rooms be designed in such a way that all people can be part of a community?
Bauhaus made art, design and architecture political. Looking at the history of this movement, this documentary questions how we want to live and where we want to go from here.
– Tomas
Tomas Zagoda is a filmmaker, writer, coffee addict and tall person who does not play basketball. You can follow him @TomasZagoda.
The German Film Festival is travelling Australia, with dates in most major cities. Tickets are now on sale. See the full lineup and book tickets here.
Some venues are accessible.
