German Current screenings run by The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles is an annual event, where you can watch the latest movies from Germany. To provide you with more information about this exceptionally great event, we interviewed Annette Rupp, Director of The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.
Bijan Tehrani. Please tell us about German Currents 2011 program.
Annette Rupp: The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, German Films and The American Cinematheque are pleased to announce an exciting slate of films set for their 5th annual German Currents Showcase, a film series being held from October 26-30, 2011 and featuring many of the best German films of 2011 and 2010 seasons. German Currents will deliver thought-provoking, highly aesthetic, and entertaining cinema, a wide range from pop to politics, from the haunting to the whimsical.
The series is presented in collaboration with MFG Film Funding Baden-Wuerttemberg and Lufthansa. The venerable list of sponsors include PORSCHE Beverly Hills, Friends of Goethe, ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America) and Standard Hotel Hollywood.
The five-day event features a wide array of genres, from sharp, elegant dramas to breezy comedies to fascinating documentaries. Many of the filmmakers will be avialable to share their filmmaking experiences with LA audiences. The films will be screened at various locations, from the Egyptian and Aero Theaters to the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.
This year’s opening night film will be ALMANYA: WELCOME TO GERMANY, directed by Jasemin Samdereli, a wacky German-Turkish comedy and a hit with German audiences.
There will be a children’s matinee film WINTER’S DAUGHTER, a touching story about a young girl determined to track down her biological father at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles preceded by an Oscar-nominated animated film THE GRUFFALO that it based on a classical children’s picture book including a mouse, an owl and a snake.
On SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29TH at 12:30pm, there will a special panel on the hot topic of film funding at 12:30pm on Saturday, October 29th at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, entitled Co Producer Germany – How to get your film funded. Presented in collaboration with German Films, the following experts will serve on the panel:
• Christine Berg, German Federal Film Funding, Project Manager
• Dieter Krauss, Film Funding, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Member of the Management Board
• Andres Veiel, Filmmaker (Director of “If Not Us, Who”)
The panel will be moderated by Oliver Mahrdt, U.S. Representative of German Films Service + Marketing.
There will be 12 films screened during the German Currents and there are three US premiers:
WEDNESDAY 10/26
7:30pm
ALMANYA: WELCOME TO GERMANY (Almanya)
OPENING PARTY (ticket holders only)
Egyptian Theatre
THURSDAY 10/27
7:30pm/9:30pmDouble Feature
THE POLL DIARIES (Poll)
JASMIN
Aero Theatre FRI
FRIDAY10/28
7:30pm/9:30pm Double Feature
THE DAY I WAS NOT BORN ( Das Lied In Mir)
WESTWIND
Aero Theatre SAT
SATURDAY 10/29
12:30pm
Panel: CO-PRODUCER GERMANY
How do I get your Film Funded
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
SATURDAY 10/29
7:30pm/9:30pm Double Feature
IF NOT US,WHO? ( Wer Wenn Nicht Wir?)
STOPPED ON TRACK (Halt Auf Freier Strecke)
EgyptianTheatre
SUNDAY 10/29
10:00am
Short: The Gruffalo
WINTER’S DAUGHTER Wintertochter)
Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
SUN 10/30
5:00pm
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING: THE LOOK
Aero Theatre SUN 10/30
7:30pm/9:30pm Double Feature
SLEEPING SICKNESS ( Schlafkrankheit)
LOLLIPOP MONSTER
Aero Theatre
BT: What are the venues that will screen the films and how international film fans could buy tickets to the screenings?
AR: AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE’S EGYPTIAN THEATRE, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, www.egyptiantheatre.com
AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE’S AERO THEATRE. 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403, www.aerotheatre.com
GOETHE-INSTITUT LOS ANGELES. 5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036, www.goethe.de/losangeles
Tickets:
Tickets to the screenings at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres can be purchased at: www.fandango.com
Tickets to the screening at The Landmark can be purchased at the door (cash) only and at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles at the door (cash) only
BT: Are there any US premiers and Los Angeles premiers among the films?
AR: The U.S. premiers are: Jasmin, director Jan Fehse’s relentlessly tense and absorbing drama of two women facing each other and discussing the murder of a child and Westwind, a love story focusing between the East and West of Germany and directed by Robert Thalheim
BT: Is the German Selection for the Best Foreign Language Film award among films screened during German Currents?
AR: The German Selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Award is PINA, directed by Wim Wenders will not be among films during German Currents but can be seen at the AFI Festival.
BT: Please tell us about the guests of the festival.
AR: First of all we welcome the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States, Dr. Peter Ammon in Los Angeles. He will open the German Currents. There will be a Q&A following “If not us who?” with Andreas Veiel, one of Germanys most well known directors. Veiel’s film looks at the roots of the terrorist wave around the Red Army Faction that shook Germany in the 1970s. Robert Thalheim will be present for a Q&A following his film Westwind, an East-West German drama shortly before the fall of the Wall.
Filmmaker Angelina Maccarone will be available following her documentary “Charlotte Rampling: The Look”. Ziska Riemann will be answering questions about her spunky coming-of-age drama “Lollipop Monster” that will be the closing night film.
Fabin Maubach, producer of “The Day I Was Not Born” will be talking about this family tragedy that has won many international awards.
We also welcome experts in film funding from Germany
• Christine Berg, German Federal Film Funding, Project Manager
• Dieter Krauss, Film Funding, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Member of the Management Board
They will join a panel, moderated by Oliver Mahrdt, U.S. Representative of German Films Service + Marketing to discuss the topic “Co-Producer Germany – How to get you film funded” on Saturday, October 29th at 12:30 p.m. at the Goethe-Institut.
BT: Is there a chance for the audience to meet the festival guests at the screenings?
AR: The audience will meet the filmmakers after the screenings. For press, please contact Fumi Kitahara, fumi@thprkitchen.com or call 310.291.9716 for additional information.
BT: What are other events of the festival?
AR: Please don’t miss the Panel “Co-Producer Germany – How to get your film funded” on October 29th, 12:30 p.m. and the Children’s Matinee on Sunday, October 30th, 10 a.m. at the Goethe-Institut. We will screen WINTER’S DAUGHTER, a touching story about a young girl determined to track down her biological father. The film is preceded by the Oscar-nominated animated short THE GRUFFALO that it based on a classical children’s picture book about a mouse, an owl and a snake.
BT: Does German Currents screenings help German films to have a better chance of distribution in US?
AR: GERMAN FILMS, the official German agency working to distribute German Films internationally will be in town on the occasion of our showcase to intensify their relationship with local distributors.
BT: How has been the progress of German Currents over the years of its existence? And how do you see the future?
AR: Each year we reach out for an even bigger audience, bring creative talents to Los Angeles and select ONLY the strongest movies from the past season. To add events like this year’s Film Funding Panel with experts from Germany tries to connect German Cinema to American producers and filmmakers even stronger.
BT: Please tell us about the sponsors of the German Currents.
AR: The series is presented by The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, German Films and The American Cinematheque in collaboration with MFG Film Funding Baden-Wuerttemberg and Lufthansa who we owe great gratitude. The venerable list of sponsors include PORSCHE Beverly Hills, Friends of Goethe, ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America) and Standard Hotel Hollywood. We also want to thank the German Consulate General, Eurochannel, Kim Yutani from Outfest and Vera Mijojlic from SEEFest for their support.