BEIJING, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The 3rd Festival of German Cinema in China officially opened in Audi City, Beijing and will screen in four Chinese metropolises including Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao and Shenzhen untill 28th November. Under the theme of 'Remember the Future', the event will present the most distinguished contemporary German films which were screened in the past 12 months.
Following up on the success of 'Festival of German Cinema' in 2013 and 2014, German Films and the Goethe-Institut are jointly hosting 'The 3rd Festival of German Cinema'. As the highlight of the event's opening ceremony, officials and celebrities attended the event and witnessed the grand opening of The 3rd Festival of German Cinema. Attendees included: Mr. Enrico Brandt, Head of Cultural Affairs at the German Embassy Beijing; Mr. Lauren Rung, Director - Market Intelligence/ -Management at Audi China; Mr. Joel Basman, renowned actor featured in WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG and AS WE WERE DREAMING; Mr. Antoine Monot Jr, actor featured in WHO AM I – NO SYSTEM IS SAFE; and Mr. Eike Frederik Schulz, actor and co-author of the opening film VICTORIA.
Speaking of the theme of this year's event, Mr. Peter Anders, Director of the Goethe-Institut China, says: 'Since people are unable to elaborate on history in an aspect of the past, people always reflect history in a current perspective and on which build their future accordingly. The films selected for this year's event also comply with the theme of 'Remember the Future'.' Ms. Mariette Rissenbeek, Managing Director of German Films, says: "The selecting criteria for this year are to have distinct themes, creative and great storytelling and a touch of history education and cultural elements to arouse interest for Germany. We hope those 14 films we selected this year can demonstrate the diversity and dynamism of German films."
A number of films for this year's Festival of German Cinema are based on actual events and are designed to demonstrate the dynamism and creativity of the modern German cities. Sebastian Schipper's VICTORIA, which is the opening film of this year's event, has not only been honoured with 6 German film awards. The film -- which was filmed in one take and is being celebrated by cineastes -- is enjoying impressive world-wide successes at international festivals from Istanbul, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro and Jerusalem.
The highlights of this year's event include Burhan Qurbani's WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG, which depicts a violent detail of German history in the aftermath of reunification. The treatment and fear of refugees and migrants are societal themes that have lost none of their currency today. Also based on actual events, Marc Brummund's FREISTATT tells the story of a young man subjected to the capriciousness and violence of the management of a charity-run home. ELSER narrates a failed assassination attempt on Hitler. PHOENIX depicts the lives of a married couple torn apart by the war and who were unable to find each other once again. We then arrive in contemporary Germany with THE LIES OF THE VICTORS, TOUR DE FORCE and WHO AM I. An exciting thriller about a journalist, a moving tale about a friendship and a fast-paced cyber-thriller demonstrate that German filmmakers can tell a very wide variety of stories.
This year's Festival of German Cinema aims to boost the interests of film professionals and common audiences towards German films and make them aware of Germany as a country prosperous in film production and media industry. In addition to presenting a new perspective of German cinema via film screenings, workshops, and roundtable discussions, other exclusive events will also be organized to encourage knowledge exchange between the two countries.
'Remember the future' signifies that the future is built on history. Films are selected based on such theme in order to deconstruct the history in a current perspective. Since people are unable to see history in a historical point of view, they are inclined to narrating the history in a current perspective so as to build their future. In other words, people will need to think about challenges for the future based on their current culture context.
Featured Films
Screenings in Cinemas:
VICTORIA
LABYRINTH OF LIES
TOUR DE FORCE
WHO AM I-NO SYSTEM IS SAFE
13 MINUTES / ELSER
TO LIFE / AUF DAS LEBEN
ABOUT A GIRL
SANCTUARY
THE CUT
THE LIES OF THE VICTORS
WE ARE YOUNG, WE ARE STRONG
PHOENIX
Other Activities:
Der letzte Mann, a silent film and Aljoscha-Zimmermann-Ensemble's live performance.
Special screening of AS WE WERE DREAMING, AGE OF CANNIBALS and B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989.
'Remember the Future' – A Dialogue between Chinese filmmakers and Mr. Joel Basman
Mr. Antoine Monot Jr's Workshop
For more information about the film schedules and screening times please visit:
www.festivalofgermancinema.com (the official website of The Festival of German Cinema) and www.goethe.de/beijing.
Or follow the official Weibo and WeChat account to get the latest news:
Weibo: @FestivalofGermanCinema http://www.weibo.com/festivalgermancinema
WeChat: Search "Festival of German Cinema" (ID:fgc_2013)
About German Films Service + Marketing GmbH
German Films Service + Marketing GmbH is the national information and advisory centre for the promotion of German films worldwide. It was established in 1954. German Films' events in China include organizing Festival of German Cinema, attending the Shanghai International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival as well as other festivals and related events. It also organizes networking events for German and Chinese film professionals, serves as a 'go-between' for Sino-German film projects and promotes German films for theatrical, broadcast and VOD distribution in China. For more information, please visit: www.german-films.de
About The Goethe-Institut China
The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, operating worldwide. When the Goethe-Institut Beijing was established on 1st November, 1988, it was the first foreign cultural centre in the PRC. From the beginning, it devoted itself to the promotion of the use of the German language, to provide access to knowledge and information about Germany, and to cooperate with Chinese partners in various cultural fields such as music, dance, theater, film, visual arts and architecture. For more information, please visit: www.goethe.de/china
Media enquiries and further information:
GHC Asia Beijing
Michelle Hsieh
T. 86-10-65-289-983
E. michelle.hsieh@ghcasia.com
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20151116/0861511226-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20151116/0861511226-b
