Today German Films announced that six films have been selected by the Museum of Modern Art for their 35th annual exhibition, Kino!, MoMA’s long-running survey of young German filmmakers. Kino! is organized by Rajendra Roy, The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, The Museum of Modern Art and German Films.
German Films is the national information and advisory center for the promotion of German films worldwide, headed by managing director Mariette Rissenbeek. This edition of Kino! New Films from Germany captures the strong creative momentum and great variety in German cinema.
“I am very happy to continue the 35-year-long collaboration with the MoMA this year,” adds German Films managing director Mariette Rissenbeek. “It has become kind of an institution and I am thrilled to have this great platform to show German cinema at this prestigious venue.”
Some of the films in Kino! are already enjoying successful festival runs, such as the tragicomedy OH BOY by Jan Ole Gerster, which had its US-premiere at AFI Fest in November and was shown at Miami International Film Festival in March. The film is an international festival hit, picking up numerous awards at European festivals. OH BOY is nominated in eight categories for the German Film Prize, whose winners are announced on April 26.
The documentary FORGET ME NOT (VERGISS MEIN NICHT by David Sieveking won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize following its world premiere in Locarno, one of Europe’s leading film festivals. FORGET ME NOT is currently nominated for the German Film Prize for Best Feature-length Documentary.
Others, like the opening night film FREE FALL (FREIER FALL) by Stephan Lacant, were first shown at the Berlin Film Festival last February; they will have their international premieres at the MoMA. Most directors will be present in New York to present their films at the screenings.
German cinema is currently making the rounds in US theaters and festivals. Nationwide releases include Christian Petzold’s critically acclaimed BARBARA and the WWII drama LORE by Cate Shortland, which won the GSA Narrative Feature Winner Award and The Jeremy Nussbaum Prize for Provocative Fiction at Hamptons International Film Festival. Director Bastian Günther’s second feature HOUSTON premiered in Sundance’s World Narrative competition last January.
Kino! is presented in association with the Goethe-Institut New York and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany.
KINO! PROGRAM –MoMA, April 18-24, 2013
FREE FALL (FREIER FALL) by Stephan Lacant – North American premiere. Fiction, color, 100 min, DCP, 2013. Police officer Marc is shaken to the core when he meets a new colleague, Kay, on a training course and begins to develop feelings for him. Torn between his love for his pregnant girlfriend Bettina and the rush of a completely new experience, his life spins increasingly out of control. Opening night film of the Perspective Deutsches Kino program at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Screenings: Thursday, April 18, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1 (in the presence of the director)- Friday, April 19, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)
OH BOY by Jan Ole Gerstner – East Coast premiere. Fiction, black and white, 88 min, DCP, 2012.
A humorous, self-deprecating tale about college drop-out Niko. Drifting through Berliin, he prefers to be an observer. But life has a way of catching up with him, as he finds himself losing his girlfriend and his father’s financial support. Everything would be so much easier if he could only find a ‘normal’ cup of coffee.
Screenings: Saturday, April 20, 2013, 7:30 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director) – Sunday, April 21, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)
SILVI by Nico Sommer – North American premiere. Fiction, 97 min, DCP, 2013. Deserted by her husband, Silvi finally realizes that her rather dull marriage has failed. Driven by loneliness, the 47-year-old woman decides to start over again! Anonymous sex, endearments in the dark and deranged lovers push her into emotional chaos of affection, pleasure and borderline experiences. She discovers that finding the right partner poses quite a challenge.
Screenings: Friday, April 19, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director) – Sunday, April 21, 2013, 1:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)
FORGET ME NOT (VERGISS MEIN NICHT) by David Sieveking. Documentary, color, 88 min, DCP, 2012. This feature-length documentary centers on the director’s mother succumbing to Alzheimer’s. Created with humor and astonishing candor, this is remarkably unsentimental film, which bravely tackles the fundamental question: will we grow old together? Grand Jury Prize winner at the Locarno Film Festival.
Screenings: Saturday, April 20, 2013, 1:30 p.m., Theater 2- Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2.
KALIFORNIA by Laura Mahlberg – North American premiere. Fiction, color 27 min, DCP, 2013. The pale grey surrounding Pavel’s caravan resembles the life inside of it: the 71-old Russian spends his evenings in a dismal and monotonous way. But then Pavel makes a decision: He picks up the telephone, calls his old friend Jack and starts walking – straight-ahead to California. Kalifornia describes the late effort of an old man to turn his life around and find happiness in the distance.
THE REVENANTS (DIE WIEDERGÄNGER) by Andreas Bolm – International premiere. Fiction, color, 62 min, HD Cam, 2013. An ageing hippie couple endures an isolated, ghostly existence in an old country house.
 A boy wanders aimlessly through a forest, building a lair for himself. A ghost story about a never-ending escape from catastrophe, The Revenants is a film about desire, loss and endlessly returning.
Screenings (both films): Saturday, April 20, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2, (in the presence of the directors)- Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the directors)