VIP Gala at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles
Ten years ago, German World published its first printed magazine edition in October 2002. Ten years later, the magazine has become a much respected publication, and its bilingual feature stories are very popular with German-Americans as well as students and teachers of German.
On October 5, 2012, the team of German World Magazine had the honor to hold a gala reception in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, an event that also opened the 6th Annual Film Festival GERMAN CURRENTS in LA.
The anniversary gala was attended by 200 VIP guests, among them German Consul General Dr. Fischer and his wife , Austrian Consul General Dr. Karin Proidl, City Councilman Tom LaBonge, Austrian Trade Commissioner Dr. Thaler, Hollywood actress Q’orianka Kilcher, film producer Marten Persiel (This Ain’t California), Vladimir and Zoran Lisinac (Metakwon Films) and Gesa Toennesen (teamWorx) as well as author Christoph Silber (Good-bye Lenin), German actors Alexander Sternberg (Verliebt in Berlin), Nina Franoszek (Mad Men), Austrian actor Christoph Dostal, Hollywood Foreign Press board member Helen Hoehne, and film producer Eric Chomsky, – among many others.
Petra Schuermann, publisher and founder of German World Magazine, was also very happy to welcome Christian Vogt of Deutsche Welle, a longtime German World customer and the Platinum Sponsor of the festival GERMAN CURRENTS. Deutsche Welle had just added more than 36 hours of German programming to their 24-hour Pay-TV available program on DISH and many cable stations in the US, and welcomed the opportunity to reach out to film aficionados and the German-American community in Los Angeles.
Petra Schuermann thanked her team and business associates for their continued support throughout the past ten years. Three German World staff writers Pia Reutter, Eva-Maria Manz, and Andreas Hennings as well as editor-in chief Ingo Ackerschott had come from Germany to participate in the event. Petra Schuermann was also very happy to welcome English language editor Nancy Joyce from Utah, German World co-founders Alexander Hast, Petra and Reinhold Schwarzwald, her mother Rita Schuermann from Germany, and her longtime mentor, former SFB TV anchor Marianne Beland from Berlin, at the event.
Consul General Dr. Fischer applauded Petra Schuermann and Fareed Majari, head of the Goethe-Institut in LA and festival director, for their joint effort to stage this event, and City Councilman Tom LaBonge presented a certificate of appreciation from the City of Los Angeles to both of them. Petra Schuermann also thanked the Goethe-Institut for the new cooperation and the opportunity to host German World’s 10-Year Anniversary Gala at such a legendary location like the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
Fareed Majari mentioned in his welcome speech that he was very happy about working with Petra Schuermann, Sandra Kashani and the others of the German World team. “This cooperation should have happened a long time ago and I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship,” he added.
The gala guests noshed on appetizers prepared by the Patina Group, one of the co-sponsors of the event, and enjoyed the selection of complimentary drinks provided by Schlumberger Champagne from Austria, Bitburger Bier and Koestritzer Schwarzbier, Erdinger Non-Alcoholic, wines from Weingut Prinz in Rheinhessen sponsored by Dee Vine Wines in San Francisco, and Underberg Herbal Liquor.
The VIP guests also had a chance to buy raffle tickets and win a roundtrip in economy class on Lufthansa, a Melitta Espresso machine, two tickets to the LA Opera, and a 100-dollar voucher donated by GermanDeli.com
The festival opened with the thought-provoking opening night movie “Kriegerin” (Combat Girls) starring newcomer star Alina Levshin. The movie selected by the festival organizer, Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, and the American Cinematheque, for opening night was followed by an interesting Q&A with lead actress Alina Levshin, who won for her role the Best Actress Award at the Berlinale 2012 and at the Sao Paulo Film Festival 2012.
At the post-screening party hosted by the Goethe-Institut for the more than 600 guests, the topic, the rawness and brutality of the movie was the talk of the evening. While everybody raved about Alina’s superb performance, many guests would have liked to see a more “feel good” movie on opening night. However, others agreed with Fareed Majari’s point of view: “A film festival is supposed to be thought-provoking and daring.” Majari also mentioned that GERMAN CURRENTS always strives to show the best recent releases from German cinema.
The opening night of GERMAN CURRENTS and the festival in general was a great success. It connected many people from very different backgrounds and industries – but everyone shared in common their love for international movies or the German language. From the party rental company, Tip Top Party Rentals, to the excellent catering and bar service of the Patina Group, as well as the entertainment by Markus Burger and the North-Atlantic Jazz Alliance, everything was “made in Germany” and a wonderful example of a successful joint effort by the German community in Los Angeles.
Thanks to the support of festival sponsors Deutsche Welle, Friends of Goethe, Lufthansa, Bitburger Bier, ELMA, Dee Vine Wines, DISH, Beverly Hills Porsche, Alpine Village, Los Angeles Berlin Sister City Committee, Kasimoff-Bluethner Pianos, Erdinger Weissbräu, the Underberg Group, BC International, Chalet Edelweiss, and Brats Brothers, the Film Festival GERMAN CURRENTS was able to reach out to a much larger audience than ever.
The American Cinematheque, who has been the cooperation partner of GERMAN CURRENTS for six years, was very happy to see a full house on opening night. This was a first for a German film event at the Egyptian Theatre. They are looking forward to working with the Goethe-Institut and German World Magazine again on the 7th Annual Film Festival GERMAN CURRENTS which will take place from October 4 – 6, 2013 at the Egyptian Theatre. Mark the date and make sure you’ll be there!
For more event pictures click on the photostream links below:
Photostream by Volker Corell for the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
Photostream by Aaron Perez for the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
Photostream Courtesy Beverly Hills Porsche
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