Once again the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, in collaboration with the American Cinematheque, and German Films, bring recent highlights of German cinema to Southern California’s audiences. This year’s German Currents Film Festival: New Films from Germany will be held Friday October, 5 through Sunday, October 7 2012; exclusively at the historic Egyptian Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. The German Currents 2012 line-up features a selection of five films from a wide array of genres. The gritty social drama Combat Girls, the gripping psychological studies Home for the Weekend, and Cracks in the Shell, the surreal love story Summer Window, and the groundbreaking documentary This Ain’t California are films no movie buff should miss.
This sixth edition of German Currents is presented in cooperation with Deutsche Welle, and German World Magazine, as well as through the help of numerous partners and generous supporters. The venerable list of sponsors includes the renowned German brewery Bitburger; ELMA: who brings European movies to American audiences, and the German Airline Lufthansa.
“German cinema has a long tradition of success, and is well represented in the line-ups of all major international film festivals. As part of its role as the official cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe-Institut functions as a showcase for German film abroad. By screening more than 70 German movies in more than 80 countries per day, you may consider us Germany’s largest cinema. Don’t be afraid when the curtain is drawn and the lights go out at the closing of German Currents 2012 that the projectors will stop. German Currents will continue to bring the latest and finest of German cinema to the screens of Southern California.” Said Fareed Majari, Festival Director and Director of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles:
Festival’s Program
All films are in German with English subtitles.
Friday, OCTOBER 5TH , 2012 – 8:00 pm, Egyptian Theatre . The Festival’s opening night features the Los Angeles premiere of director David Wnendt’s 2011 highly acclaimed feature Kriegerin (Combat Girls), which tells the story of a young woman who is entangled in the German Neo-Nazi scene. Her political convictions are put to the test when she encounters a young political refugee seeking asylum in her town. As the worlds of these three individuals collide, a chain of events is set in motion that will turn the protagonist’s life upside down.
KRIEGERIN (COMBAT GIRLS). In celebration of the Festival’s opening night, Lead Actress Alina Levshin will be present to discuss her role in Kriegerin (Combat Girls). All ticket holders are invited to an opening night reception following the screening at the Egyptian Theatre courtyard with German food and beer, as well as live music with Markus Burger and the North Atlantic Jazz Alliance.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 2012 – 7:30 pm, Egyptian Theatre This evening is a double feature that begins with the Los Angeles premiere of Hans-Christian Schmid’s Was Bleibt (Home for the Weekend). A troubled family is briefly reunited for a family weekend, but the reunion quickly evolves into a confrontation where family secrets and unspoken truths cause the façade of a harmonious family life to fall to pieces.
WAS BLEIBT (HOME FOR THE WEEKEND). Christian Schwochow’s psychological drama Die Unsichtbare (Cracks in the Shell) closes this evening of riveting psychological dramas. Playing Dumas’ Camille, a young actress breaks out of her shell and discovers her femininity and sexuality, but the work with her obsessive theater director leads her on a path of danger and self-destruction.
DIE UNSICHTBARE (CRACKS IN THE SHELL) Screens at 9:00 pm
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 2012 – 5:30pm, Egyptian Theatre
Closing night is also a double feature which begins with Hendrik Handloegten’s surreal love story Fenster zum Sommer (Summer Window). Juliane has mysteriously travelled back in time— precisely six months earlier—before she met her new love. In a bizarre twist of fate, she re-experiences the events that led up to a tragic event and a major change in her life. Is what at first glance appears to be a cruel setback actually a second chance…?
FENSTER ZUM SOMMER (SUMMER WINDOW). The festival ends with the Southern California premiere of Marten Persiel’s multi-award winning documentary This Ain’t California. Celebrating youthful rebellion, a lust for life, and the search for freedom through skateboarding in Cold War East Germany, Persiel’s film follows a core group of teenagers before, during, and after the fall of the Berlin wall; providing a never before seen glimpse into youth culture behind the Iron Curtain . Director Marten Persiel will be present for a Q&A and reception following the screening.
THIS AIN’T CALIFORNIA SCREENS AT 7:15.
Additional information and schedule for all films: www.goethe.de/germancurrents. Advance ticket sales are available through www.americancinematheque.com or the Egyptian Theatre box office.