2022 GERMAN CURRENTS FILM FESTIVAL IN LA: FULL PROGRAM LINE-UP

Photo: Courtesy Goethe
We are happy to share great news about the 16th edition of the German Currents Film Festival 2022!
German Currents Film Festival is back in Los Angeles, screening an exclusive selection of curated German films. The festival will take place at the American Cinematheque (Los Feliz 3 Theatres) and the Goethe-Institut space, rooted in the MacArthur Park neighborhood. Over the past year, the German cultural center has established itself as a cutting-edge space for the arts. It is a vital center that connects people and builds a bridge between culture and communities through inclusive experiences, exhibits, concerts, screenings, and lively discussions.

Festival Director and Director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, Mrs. Lien Heidenreich-Seleme says:

“We are happy to share news about this year’s edition of German Currents. In cooperation with the American Cinematheque, we’re opening this year’s festival with two films at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre. The programming continues throughout the weekend with more films at the new Goethe-Institut project space in MacArthur Park. This October also marks our one-year anniversary in our new location in this diverse community. We are grateful for the deep connections we have made in the community and look forward to celebrating this milestone with our wonderful German Currents audience.”

 

German Currents 2022 will open with an exclusive in-person screening of the LA Premiere of acclaimed director Andreas Dresen’s award-winning (German Film Award in Silver) RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE W. BUSH, followed by an opening night screening of the west coast premiere of WE MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD, by director Natalia Sinelnikova. The film opened the program Perspective Deutsches Kino at Berlinale 2022. The festival will continue with Andreas Kleinert’s DEAR THOMAS, and PRECIOUS IVIE, directed by Sarah Blasskiewitz. Both films will celebrate their LA premieres. To complete their festival program, German Currents will bring back its popular family matinee with a screening of THE PEPPERCORNS AND THE SECRET OF THE DEEP SEA, directed by Christian Theede.

The festival takes place as an In-person event at the following locations:
Los Feliz 3, 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 1901 West 7th St. Suite AB, Los Angeles, CA 90057
The screenings are free-of-charge, reservation required: www.germancurrents.com
For more information, please visit:
The German Currents Film Festival is produced by the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the American Cinematheque in kind cooperation with the German Consulate General, and with the support of The Friends of Goethe, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, theGerman Film Office, and media partners Deutsche Welle.
MOVIES – 2022 FESTIVAL LINE-UP:

Friday, October 21 @ the Los Feliz 3

 

7:00 PM Opening Night Remarks and Screening of   
WEST COAST PREMIERE | IN-PERSON SCREENING @ LOS FELIZ 3  
RABIYE KURNAZ VS. GEORGE W. BUSH |Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush

2022, The Match Factory. Germany/France, 119 min. Dir. Andreas Dresen

 

October 2001. Bremen, Germany. For Rabie Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan), a loving wife and mother, her close-knit Turkish-German immigrant family is the center of her world. Shortly after her oldest son Murat (Abdullah Emre Öztürk) goes missing, the Kurnaz’ learn that he has been arrested in Pakistan, detained without trial, and sent to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp as a suspected terrorist. Rabiye immediately springs into action but soon finds herself alone and out of her depth. Things change for the dedicated, albeit impulsive and impatient Rabiye when she finds Bernhard Docke (Alexander Scheer), a level-headed human rights lawyer, who takes on her case. Together, the two find themselves enmeshed in global politics as they battle for her son’s release, all the way to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.  Veteran filmmaker Andreas Dresen skillfully directs Kaptan’s award-winning blend of drama and humor in her portrayal of the real Rabiye Kurnaz. Laila Stieler’s award-winning screenplay captures Kurnaz’ determination and dedication to her family and justice.

German Film Awards 2022: Best Film (Silver), Best Lead Actress (Meltem Kaptan), Best Supporting Actor (Alexander Scheer). Berlinale 2022: Guild Film Award, Best Screenpay -Silver, Best Lead Actress – Siver (Meltem Kaptan). German Screen Actors Awards 2022: Dramatic Lead (Meltem Kaptan). Nationaler Friedenspreis des Deutschen Films – Die Brücke 2022
10:00 PM Opening Night Screening of   
WEST COAST PREMIERE | IN-PERSON SCREENING @ LOS FELIZ 3  
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD| Wir Könnten Genauso Gut Tot Sein

2022, Fortissimo Films. Germany, 93 min. Dir. Natalia Sinelnikova

 

In Natalia Sinelnikova’s feature film debut, the microcosm of the high-rise provides the setting for an eerie, nuanced, and satirical portrait of a timeless dystopian experiment. Anna (Iacob) and her teenage daughter Iris (Geiger) live in an exclusive apartment building near the edge of an unnamed forest. Secluded, secure, and self-contained, the complex is famous for its curated list of residents. To live here, shielded from a dangerous environment, is the goal. As head of security, Anna holds one of the most critical positions within the community. Life within the idyllic complex seems perfect until caretaker Gerti‘s (Schüttauf) dog mysteriously disappears, sparking panic among the residents. What follows is an unsettling, slow-burning series of events that send the already paranoid tenants spiraling towards mass hysteria. Award-winning cinematographer Jan Mayntz artfully captures the bleak reality of Sinelnikova and Gallandi’s screenplay that resonates with current social and political issues.

Berlinale 2022: Opening Film at Perspective Deutsches Kino. Tribeca Film Festival 2022: International Narrative Competition, Best Cinematography. Bolzano Film Festival Bozen 2021: Cine Chromatix – Postproduktions-Preis. Berlin Film Week: Winner Best Director and Best Screenplay
Saturday, October 22nd @ the GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES
5:00 PM Screening of   
LA PREMIERE | IN-PERSON SCREENING @ GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES
DEAR THOMAS| Lieber Thomas

2022, Beta Cinema. Germany, 150 min. Dir. Andreas Kleinert

 

Rebel. Poet. Revolutionary. Few artists personify the division between East and West Germany like Thomas Brasch. Born in 1945 to Jewish-German emigrants exiled in England who soon returned to Germany to help build the GDR, Thomas (Schuch) was destined to be an outsider. As his father Horst (Schüttauf) rose in the ranks of East Germany’s ruling party, he urged young Thomas to help build the then still young state. But Thomas grew to be an uncompromisingly radical activist and artist whose rebellious attitude led to family conflict, state censorship, and ultimately prison. After emigrating to the west with his partner Katharina (Haase), Brasch refused to play the role of the stereotypical GDR dissident artist. Instead, he directed his critique at German history and West German Society in his poetry, plays, and films. Despite his overwhelming success and acceptance in the west, Brasch refused to be appropriated. Recipient of nine German Film Awards, including Best Film, Screenplay, Actor (Schuch), Actress (Haase), and Cinematography, veteran director Andreas Kleinert skillfully interweaves Brasch’s writing into this intimate portrait of the East German provocateur.

German Film Awards 2022: Best Film (Gold), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor (Albrecht Schuch), Best Supporting Actress (Jella Haase), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Set Design, Best Costumes. Bavarian Film Awards 2022: Best Actor (Albrecht Schuch)

8:00 PM Screening of   

LA PREMIERE | IN-PERSON SCREENING @ GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES
PRECIOUS IVIE | IVIE WIE IVIE

2021, Weydemann Bros. Germany, 112 min. Dir. Sarah Blaßkiewitz

 

Ivie (Haley Luise Jones) is a 30-year-old German woman with African roots living in Leipzig, whose life seems to be at a standstill. Struggling to land a permanent teaching position, she spends her time between job interviews, hanging out with her friends, who’ve nicknamed her “Shoko” (literally Choco), and working a part-time job. However, Ivie’s life is up-ended when Naomi (Lorna Ishema), her half-sister from Berlin, shows up unexpectedly with news of their father’s death and his upcoming funeral in Senegal. Neither sister knew their father, nor did they know each other. But as the sisters from two very different cities and backgrounds grow closer, Ivie begins to question her nickname, culture, and self-image as she finds the strength within herself to move forward. Writer-Director Sarah Blaßkiewitz’s multi-award-winning feature debut is an intelligently crafted examination of identity and everyday racism.

German Screen Actors Awards 2022: Best Leading Role (Haley Louise Jones). German Film Awards 2021: Best supporting Actress (Lorna Ishema). Filmkunstmesse Leipzig 2021: Guild Film Award, Best Film (Junges Kino).
Festival of German Films Ludwigshafen 2021: Best Film.

Achtung berlin 2021 – new berlin film award: Best Acting (Haley Louise Jones and Lorna Ishema). Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2019: Baltic Event Works in Progress – Award.

Sunday, October 23rd @ GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES
11:00 AM Screening of   
WEST COAST PREMIERE | FAMILY MATINEE @ GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES
THE PEPPERCORNS AND THE SECRET OF THE DEEP SEA | Die Pfefferkörner und der Schatz der Tiefsee

2020, Globalscreen. Germany, 94 min. Dir. Christian Theede

 

This Film will will also screen on Monday, October 24th (via invitation) at the Goethe-Institut as a special matinee screening for local school groups. 

Germany’s beloved and unbeatable team of teenage detectives is back. When Alice (Flint) visits her friend Tarun (Fischer-Ortmann) on the coast of Northern Ireland for summer vacation, neither of them can imagine the adventure that awaits them. Tarun’s mother, Jaswinder (Abbas), is an oceanographer working on a secret project to reduce plastic waste in the ocean. Shortly after her top secret documents are stolen, Jaswinder disappears without a trace. While tracking down clues to hopefully find Jaswinder, Alice and Tarun come face to face with Robert Fleckmann (Ferch), a suspicious business executive who seems to know too much about Jaswinder’s research. Alice and Tarun suddenly find themselves tangled up in a mystery that they can only solve with the help of their Peppercorn friends: Jonny (Pütz), Clarissa (Martz), and Hanna (Madita). Theede’s film brings the beloved German television series to the big screen for another family-friendly adventure filled with courage, humor, action, suspense, and an inspiring cast of young characters determined to change their world for the better.

For more information, please visit: www.goethe.de/losangeles

 

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