Confirming Germany’s importance as a growth market, Netfix on Wednesday announced 17 new and returning shows and movies produced by some of the country’s leading producers, including docuseries “Kaulitz & Kaulitz,” about the Tokio Hotel popstar siblings, and sci-fi drama “Cassandra,” about an overzealous electronic household helper.
Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.
“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”
Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.
Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.
“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”
Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.
- 3/13/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Sebastian Stan, whose “A Different Man” screens in the Berlin Film Festival, Christoph Waltz and Tom Wlaschiha, the “Faceless Man” in “Game of Thrones,” were among the guests at Studio Babelsberg Night, the historic Berlin film studios’ party at Soho House Berlin held to celebrate the 74th edition of the festival. The event was supported by Mexican tequila brand Don Julio, the Motion Picture Assn. and Little Moons. Variety was the media partner.
Among the leading filmmakers welcomed by Babelsberg were Fatih Akin, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2004, Julia von Heinz, whose film “Treasure,” starring Lena Dunham, plays at the Berlinale, and Tom Tykwer, who shot series “Babylon Berlin” at Babelsberg and recently shot feature film “The Light” there.
Christoph Waltz
Other directors and writers at the party included “Dark” creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who shot Netflix’s “1899” at Babelsberg, Lars Kraume, Detlev Buck and David Wnendt.
Among the leading filmmakers welcomed by Babelsberg were Fatih Akin, who won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2004, Julia von Heinz, whose film “Treasure,” starring Lena Dunham, plays at the Berlinale, and Tom Tykwer, who shot series “Babylon Berlin” at Babelsberg and recently shot feature film “The Light” there.
Christoph Waltz
Other directors and writers at the party included “Dark” creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who shot Netflix’s “1899” at Babelsberg, Lars Kraume, Detlev Buck and David Wnendt.
- 2/22/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Pictures: Netflix – Illustration by What’s on Netflix
It’s time for another slate preview, and today we’ll look through all the upcoming German-language movies and series we know are in development at Netflix for release in 2024 and beyond.
2023 was a big year for new German-language Netflix Originals, with a dozen releases in total. Dear Child was perhaps the biggest, spending six weeks in the global top 10s in total. As a reminder, all the new German titles included:
1899 (Multilingual) Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold Blood & Gold Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Dear Child Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate Hard Feelings Making All Quiet on the Western Front Paradise Sleeping Dog Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom Too Hot to Handle: Germany Woman of the Dead
This list is everything currently announced and Netflix De (or Netflix Europe) has yet to put out an...
It’s time for another slate preview, and today we’ll look through all the upcoming German-language movies and series we know are in development at Netflix for release in 2024 and beyond.
2023 was a big year for new German-language Netflix Originals, with a dozen releases in total. Dear Child was perhaps the biggest, spending six weeks in the global top 10s in total. As a reminder, all the new German titles included:
1899 (Multilingual) Big Mäck: Gangsters and Gold Blood & Gold Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld Dear Child Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate Hard Feelings Making All Quiet on the Western Front Paradise Sleeping Dog Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom Too Hot to Handle: Germany Woman of the Dead
This list is everything currently announced and Netflix De (or Netflix Europe) has yet to put out an...
- 1/2/2024
- by Kasey Moore
- Whats-on-Netflix
"I don't want to be that idiot anymore who misses out on life." Warner Bros Germany debuted an official trailer for a German movie opening February 2024 titled A Million Minutes, or Eine Million Minuten in German. It's based on the book "One Million Minutes: What My Daughter Taught Me About Time" from Wolf Küper, about his own experiences living a more healthier, sustainable life. The Küper family's life is turned upside down when their daughter Nina is diagnosed with a motor disorder. In search of a better way of life, they spend 694 days in Thailand & Iceland and discover a new world full of time for her and each family member. But social norms and the expectations of family members put their deceleration to the test. "One million minutes, 694 days, almost two years... The Küpers set off in search of a new, different way of life and discover anew every day:...
- 12/27/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
German cinema is in Cannes with new works by Wim Wenders and films that explore Nazi propaganda, gender identity, economic crisis, romance, betrayal and fast cars.
In addition to domestic films, a dozen German co-productions are screening in this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, including major works from the likes of Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismäki and Jessica Hausner.
Wenders is in Cannes with “Perfect Days,” which is vying for the Palme d’Or, and the documentary “Anselm” in Special Screenings.
“Perfect Days” tells the story of a Tokyo janitor (Kôji Yakusho) who seems very content with his simple life, structured routines and passion for music, books and photography. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. The Japanese-German co-production is sold by the Match Factory.
“Anselm” explores the work of artist Anselm Kiefer, shedding light on his life, inspirations and creative process. Shot in 3D,...
In addition to domestic films, a dozen German co-productions are screening in this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup, including major works from the likes of Wes Anderson, Aki Kaurismäki and Jessica Hausner.
Wenders is in Cannes with “Perfect Days,” which is vying for the Palme d’Or, and the documentary “Anselm” in Special Screenings.
“Perfect Days” tells the story of a Tokyo janitor (Kôji Yakusho) who seems very content with his simple life, structured routines and passion for music, books and photography. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. The Japanese-German co-production is sold by the Match Factory.
“Anselm” explores the work of artist Anselm Kiefer, shedding light on his life, inspirations and creative process. Shot in 3D,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
With some of Germany’s most successful production companies in its stable, Leonine Studios is reaping the rewards with such feature film and television hits as “School of Magical Animals,” “Nightlife,” “Dark” and “Pagan Peak.”
Leonine’s production division includes such well-established companies as Wiedemann & Berg Film, which focuses on theatrical features, W&b Television and Odeon Fiction, which produce movies and series for all broadcasters and streaming platforms in Germany, documentary outfit Gebrueder Beetz and format maker I&u TV.
“We are in for high creative quality and commercial success,” explains Quirin Berg, who, along with Max Wiedemann, serves as Leonine’s chief production officer and managing director of Wiedemann & Berg Film.
“The parameters in each segment we are operating in may be different, but the agenda is not. And that was already the profile when we started out as producers some 20 years ago.”
Indeed, Wiedemann & Berg’s first feature film,...
Leonine’s production division includes such well-established companies as Wiedemann & Berg Film, which focuses on theatrical features, W&b Television and Odeon Fiction, which produce movies and series for all broadcasters and streaming platforms in Germany, documentary outfit Gebrueder Beetz and format maker I&u TV.
“We are in for high creative quality and commercial success,” explains Quirin Berg, who, along with Max Wiedemann, serves as Leonine’s chief production officer and managing director of Wiedemann & Berg Film.
“The parameters in each segment we are operating in may be different, but the agenda is not. And that was already the profile when we started out as producers some 20 years ago.”
Indeed, Wiedemann & Berg’s first feature film,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Michiel van Erp’s Casanova drama ‘A Beautiful Imperfection’ stars Jonah Hauer-King and Dar Zuzovsky.
German sales outfit Global Screen has added two new titles to its busy Cannes market line-up.
The Munich-based company has taken on international rights, excluding Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy, for Michiel van Erp’s A Beautiful Imperfection, a romantic costume drama telling the story of the love affair between a young woman and the notorious Italian adventurer and womaniser Giacomo Casanova.
The project is in post-production and Global Screen will have a first promo for pre-sales at the Cannes Market.
Jonah Hauer-King stars as...
German sales outfit Global Screen has added two new titles to its busy Cannes market line-up.
The Munich-based company has taken on international rights, excluding Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy, for Michiel van Erp’s A Beautiful Imperfection, a romantic costume drama telling the story of the love affair between a young woman and the notorious Italian adventurer and womaniser Giacomo Casanova.
The project is in post-production and Global Screen will have a first promo for pre-sales at the Cannes Market.
Jonah Hauer-King stars as...
- 5/3/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Picture Tree Intl. has taken global sales rights for “The Peacock” by Lutz Heineking Jr. The black comedy is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by German author Isabel Bogdan, which has been published in key European territories. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below).
The film’s cast is filled with German stars including Lavinia Wilson, Tom Schilling, David Kross and Jürgen Vogel. Tobis Film releases the film in Germany on March 9.
When investment banker Linda Bachmann and her team arrive at the country estate of Lord and Lady McIntosh for a team building seminar, the prospects for having a relaxing weekend in Scotland are not good: the annual balance sheet is lousy, the team is keeping a suspicious eye on each other and their boss, and there are rumors that a compliance officer will soon be restructuring the department.
To make matters worse,...
The film’s cast is filled with German stars including Lavinia Wilson, Tom Schilling, David Kross and Jürgen Vogel. Tobis Film releases the film in Germany on March 9.
When investment banker Linda Bachmann and her team arrive at the country estate of Lord and Lady McIntosh for a team building seminar, the prospects for having a relaxing weekend in Scotland are not good: the annual balance sheet is lousy, the team is keeping a suspicious eye on each other and their boss, and there are rumors that a compliance officer will soon be restructuring the department.
To make matters worse,...
- 1/31/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
For almost 30 years, the Oldenburg Film Festival has been championing a very specific flavor of fiercely independent cinema.
Equally inspired by the New Hollywood genre films of the 1970s and the bootstraps indie cinema of the 1990s, Oldenburg has carved out a niche unlike any of the major international festivals. Instead of playing the same fall festival hits as Cannes, Venice and Toronto, Oldenburg continues to spotlight overlooked or forgotten movies that don’t fit the industry’s familiar categories.
For the 29th festival, which runs Sept. 14-18, The Hollywood Reporter took a look back at five indie gems from Oldenburg’s weird and wonderful history.
A Coffee in Berlin (2012, Winner, Audience Award, German Independence Award, Best Actor Award)
‘A Coffee in Berlin’
Jan-Ole Gerster’s A Coffee In Berlin, a droll, Jim Jarmusch-inspired day-in-the-life-of-a-German-slacker drama, premiered at the Munich Film Festival.
For almost 30 years, the Oldenburg Film Festival has been championing a very specific flavor of fiercely independent cinema.
Equally inspired by the New Hollywood genre films of the 1970s and the bootstraps indie cinema of the 1990s, Oldenburg has carved out a niche unlike any of the major international festivals. Instead of playing the same fall festival hits as Cannes, Venice and Toronto, Oldenburg continues to spotlight overlooked or forgotten movies that don’t fit the industry’s familiar categories.
For the 29th festival, which runs Sept. 14-18, The Hollywood Reporter took a look back at five indie gems from Oldenburg’s weird and wonderful history.
A Coffee in Berlin (2012, Winner, Audience Award, German Independence Award, Best Actor Award)
‘A Coffee in Berlin’
Jan-Ole Gerster’s A Coffee In Berlin, a droll, Jim Jarmusch-inspired day-in-the-life-of-a-German-slacker drama, premiered at the Munich Film Festival.
- 9/15/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Picture Tree International (Pti) has acquired Constantin Film’s hit comedy film series “Bavarian Rhapsody,” about a laid-back cop in a small town in southern Germany.
The eight-part movie series, which Pti is presenting at the MipTV mart in Cannes this week, includes the latest installment, “Guglhupf Squadron,” which Constantin is releasing in theaters in August. Pti will screen a trailer reel of the series and part seven in the franchise, last year’s “Kaiserschmarrn Drama.”
Based on Rita Falk’s bestselling book series that also celebrates Bavarian cuisine, the movie franchise began in 2013 with “Sweet Buns Blues” and also comprises 2014’s “Winterpotato Dumplings”; “Porkhead Al Dente” (2016); “Wheatnoodles Affair” (2017); “Sauerkraut Coma” (2018); and the sixth installment, “Leberkäs Junkie” (2019).
Set in the town of Niederkaltenkirchen, the series follows Franz Eberhofer, the local village cop and an easygoing creature of habit who lives on his family’s farm, Eberhoferhof, with his grandmother, an...
The eight-part movie series, which Pti is presenting at the MipTV mart in Cannes this week, includes the latest installment, “Guglhupf Squadron,” which Constantin is releasing in theaters in August. Pti will screen a trailer reel of the series and part seven in the franchise, last year’s “Kaiserschmarrn Drama.”
Based on Rita Falk’s bestselling book series that also celebrates Bavarian cuisine, the movie franchise began in 2013 with “Sweet Buns Blues” and also comprises 2014’s “Winterpotato Dumplings”; “Porkhead Al Dente” (2016); “Wheatnoodles Affair” (2017); “Sauerkraut Coma” (2018); and the sixth installment, “Leberkäs Junkie” (2019).
Set in the town of Niederkaltenkirchen, the series follows Franz Eberhofer, the local village cop and an easygoing creature of habit who lives on his family’s farm, Eberhoferhof, with his grandmother, an...
- 4/5/2022
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Dominik Graf has been busy turning out termite art for decades. Finding a home on German TV shows like Tatort and Police Call 310, which air feature-length episodes with self-contained storylines, his work is modest but powerful, somewhere between Michael Mann and Johnnie To. Though subject of a retrospective at New York’s Anthology Film Archives in 2019, he has only recently received much attention outside Germany. His dedication to genre cinema––to which he has devoted two documentaries––and disdain for New German Cinema helps explains this, as does the infrequency with which subtitled TV is imported here. Two of his best films, Cold Spring and Bitter Innocence, are acridly cynical examinations of capitalism’s effect on German family life, mixing family melodrama with thriller.
Fabian: Going to the Dogs takes seemingly familiar ground and breathes new life into it. Set in 1931, it shows the gradual rise of fascism as a...
Fabian: Going to the Dogs takes seemingly familiar ground and breathes new life into it. Set in 1931, it shows the gradual rise of fascism as a...
- 2/14/2022
- by Steve Erickson
- The Film Stage
Dominik Graf, one of contemporary cinema’s most vigorous and engaged filmmakers—not to mention prodigious, having made nearly 20 features in the last ten years—is making a welcome return to movie theaters. After the commercial failure of Die Sieger, a big screen crime epic, Graf pivoted to focus on television movies, whose verve and density easily put to rest any argument about the cinematic capacity of the small screen. All his TV movies are good, many are great; almost all are unknown outside Germany. Thus the release in cinemas of a new feature is a relatively rare opportunity for audiences to see a special filmmaker at work.The caveat here is that like Hitchcock and Kubrick before him, and Fincher and Soderbergh now, Graf is obsessed with the idioms of genre cinema, but is also too knowing to master its transparent experience. He so thoroughly knows what makes a...
- 2/11/2022
- MUBI
Berlin-based sales agency Picture Tree Intl. has added to its European Film Market slate “Love Thing,” starring top German actor Elyas M’Barek, whose credits include “The Collini Case.” Also on the slate is “Soul of a Beast,” which debuts its trailer below.
Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.
“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.
Despite the virtual nature of the EFM, the company has taken additional office space at the Marriott Hotel in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
“Love Thing,” which also stars Lucie Heinze, Peri Baumeister and Alexandra Maria Lara, is directed and written by Anika Decker, whose last feature “High Society” sold widely. Decker scripted box office successes like “Rabbit Without Ears,” which grossed $85 million.
“Love Thing” is produced by German production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film, which has set its release for July 7. The producers are Rüdiger Böss and Philipp Reuter; the co-producers are Anika Decker and Jan Decker; and the executive producer is Martin Moszkowicz. Picture Tree will present a first teaser trailer to select buyers.
- 2/2/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Our annual tradition of Fantasy Double Features asks the year's Notebook contributors to pair something new with something old, with the only requirement being the films have to have been freshly seen this year.Part diary of memorable viewing during 2021, part creative prompt to think about how cinema's present speaks to its past (and vice versa), the 14th edition of our end of year poll weaves between theater-going and home-viewing so seamlessly as to suggest that early pandemic impediments from last year are now quite normal. Yet clearly that hasn't stopped us from watching, being delighted by, and thinking about movies, and the wonderful combinations below are testaments to the dynamic, idiosyncratic, and interactive vitality of moviegoing wherever and however its being practiced.CONTRIBUTORSJett Allen | Paul Attard | Jennifer Lynde Barker | Susana Bessa | Michael M. Bilandic | Ela Bittencourt | Johannes Black | Joshua Bogatin | Alex Broadwell | Celluloid Liberation Front | Lillian Crawford | Adrian Curry...
- 1/13/2022
- MUBI
WarnerMedia Germany has confirmed that Ricky Gervais is among the cast of its comedy series Greenlight – German Genius, which is now shooting in Berlin.
The eight-part TV satire stars Kida Khodr Ramadan (4 Blocks) as himself. It recounts a dramatized version of events after Ramadan’s real-life Twitter exchange with Gervais in 2018, in which the British comedian praised Ramadan’s performance in 4 Blocks.
In Greenlight, Ramadan convinces Gervais to give him the rights for a German adaptation of Extras. However, as he attempts to progress the show to production, he comes up against the fact that the Germans aren’t particularly known for their humor, and that there are not many international stars in the country.
Also in the cast are a host of known German actors, musicians, and comedians, including: Detlev Buck, Frederick Lau, Tom Schilling, Veysel Gelin, Olli Schulz, Heike Makatsch, Maria Furtwängler, Sascha Geršak, Katrin Bauerfeind, Britta Hammelstein,...
The eight-part TV satire stars Kida Khodr Ramadan (4 Blocks) as himself. It recounts a dramatized version of events after Ramadan’s real-life Twitter exchange with Gervais in 2018, in which the British comedian praised Ramadan’s performance in 4 Blocks.
In Greenlight, Ramadan convinces Gervais to give him the rights for a German adaptation of Extras. However, as he attempts to progress the show to production, he comes up against the fact that the Germans aren’t particularly known for their humor, and that there are not many international stars in the country.
Also in the cast are a host of known German actors, musicians, and comedians, including: Detlev Buck, Frederick Lau, Tom Schilling, Veysel Gelin, Olli Schulz, Heike Makatsch, Maria Furtwängler, Sascha Geršak, Katrin Bauerfeind, Britta Hammelstein,...
- 11/25/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Ricky Gervais has boarded “Greenlight – German Genius” a new series from WarnerMedia Germany inspired by one of his tweets from 2019.
The 8-episode series, which has started shooting in Berlin, satirises the German television industry.
Two years ago the “After Life” writer and actor sent a public message via Twitter to German actor Kida Ramadan praising his portrayal of character Toni Hamady in series “4 Blocks.”
“Congratulations,” wrote Gervais. “Another masterpiece.”
In a case of art imitating life, Ramadan and Gervais will now appear as fictional versions of themselves in “Greenlight – German Genius,” in which Ramadan convincing Gervais to let him make a German adaptation of his hit series “Extras” after the comedian sends Ramadan a tweet praising his performance in “4 Blocks.”
However, Ramadan hits a stumbling block when he realizes there aren’t any international celebrities in Germany to cameo in the adaptation all while trying to navigate the...
The 8-episode series, which has started shooting in Berlin, satirises the German television industry.
Two years ago the “After Life” writer and actor sent a public message via Twitter to German actor Kida Ramadan praising his portrayal of character Toni Hamady in series “4 Blocks.”
“Congratulations,” wrote Gervais. “Another masterpiece.”
In a case of art imitating life, Ramadan and Gervais will now appear as fictional versions of themselves in “Greenlight – German Genius,” in which Ramadan convincing Gervais to let him make a German adaptation of his hit series “Extras” after the comedian sends Ramadan a tweet praising his performance in “4 Blocks.”
However, Ramadan hits a stumbling block when he realizes there aren’t any international celebrities in Germany to cameo in the adaptation all while trying to navigate the...
- 11/25/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
In his latest work, “Fabian — Going to the Dogs,” Dominik Graf adapts a work that defines the tragic, hedonistic and dysfunctional era of the Weimar Republic from a writer widely known for his children’s books.
Set in 1931 Berlin, the story, based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name, is seen through the eyes of Jakob Fabian (Tom Schilling), a fatalistic writer who finds solace in his love for Cornelia, played by Saskia Rosendahl (“Never Look Away”) and his best friend Stephan (European Shooting Star Albrecht Schuch), and the wild nights of the city’s outlandish establishments while longing for the return of decency in a society gone astray.
The film premiered in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and screened this week at Rotterdam Film Festival.
Graf, one of Germany’s preeminent filmmakers, is behind such lauded works as “The Cat,” “A Map of the Heart,...
Set in 1931 Berlin, the story, based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name, is seen through the eyes of Jakob Fabian (Tom Schilling), a fatalistic writer who finds solace in his love for Cornelia, played by Saskia Rosendahl (“Never Look Away”) and his best friend Stephan (European Shooting Star Albrecht Schuch), and the wild nights of the city’s outlandish establishments while longing for the return of decency in a society gone astray.
The film premiered in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and screened this week at Rotterdam Film Festival.
Graf, one of Germany’s preeminent filmmakers, is behind such lauded works as “The Cat,” “A Map of the Heart,...
- 6/6/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The new film by the German director will star actors Justus von Dohnányi and Hans Löw alongside newcomer Claude Heinrich as the main protagonist. The shoot for the adaptation of the novel Wir sind dann wohl die Angehörigen (lit. “We Are the Relatives”), written in 2018 by young German musician and first-time author Johann Scheerer, has started, helmed by director Hans-Christian Schmid, who wrote the script for this family drama together with Michael Gutmann. Schmid, best known for films such as Crazy (starring Robert Stadlober and Tom Schilling) and Requiem (starring Sandra Hüller), is producing the film together with Britta Knöller and their production company, 23/5 Filmproduktion. Through the unusual and enthralling perspective of a 13-year-old, the film tells the story of the abduction of Jan Philipp Reemtsma, which actually took place in 1996. Johann Scheerer, Reemtsma's son, converted his experience into a novel. He paints the portrait of a...
Dominik Graf’s Golden Bear contender came in joint second on Screen’s Berlin jury grid.
Paris-based Les Films du Losange has announced a raft of international deals on German director Dominik Graf’s Weimar Republic-era drama Fabian which made its world premiere in competition at the online Berlinale last week.
The film has sold to Japan (Moviola), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films), China (Huanxi Media), South Korea (Alto Media), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), Poland (Aurora), Hungary (Cirko) and the Baltic States (European Film Forum Scanorama).
These deals come hot on the heels of last week’s...
Paris-based Les Films du Losange has announced a raft of international deals on German director Dominik Graf’s Weimar Republic-era drama Fabian which made its world premiere in competition at the online Berlinale last week.
The film has sold to Japan (Moviola), Australia and New Zealand (Palace Films), China (Huanxi Media), South Korea (Alto Media), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Portugal (Legendmain Filmes), Poland (Aurora), Hungary (Cirko) and the Baltic States (European Film Forum Scanorama).
These deals come hot on the heels of last week’s...
- 3/12/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
When he was offered the lead role in Fabian —Going to the Dogs, a coming-of-age tell set in Berlin in the early 1930s, Tom Schilling wasn’t really interested in doing another period drama.
The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...
The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...
- 3/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When he was offered the lead role in Fabian —Going to the Dogs, a coming-of-age tell set in Berlin in the early 1930s, Tom Schilling wasn’t really interested in doing another period drama.
The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...
The German star, who played a post-war, avant-garde artist in Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Oscar-nominated Never Look Away (2018), the seminal East Berlin playwright Bertold Brecht in Brecht (2019) from Heinrich Breloer, and a pacifist sent to the Eastern Front in WW2 series Generation War (2013), also wasn’t a fan of the Erich Kästner book the film was based on: a largely autobiographical novel about a would-be ...
- 3/10/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
German author Erich Kästner is most celebrated for the children’s novel Emil and the Detectives, but he was one of the more renowned men of letters of his day, publishing poetry, reviews, and satirical columns in Berlin liberal newspapers like Berliner Tageblatt and Vossische Zeitung––both of which were shut down as the Third Reich ascended to power. His novel Fabian – Going to the Dogs was published earlier in 1932, but is now perceived as a prophetic harbinger for the Weimar Republic’s demise. And of course, notions of liberal democracy’s twilight are rich in the minds of artists and commentators today, so here we have German literary film-specialist Dominik Graf with a timely and maybe predictable adaptation of Fabian.
Except, as sundry early viewers of Fabian have identified, this is a story and milieu bathed in overfamiliarity, and Graf’s three-hour film version doesn’t distinguish itself well...
Except, as sundry early viewers of Fabian have identified, this is a story and milieu bathed in overfamiliarity, and Graf’s three-hour film version doesn’t distinguish itself well...
- 3/5/2021
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
It is a welcome sight indeed to find Dominik Graf, one of contemporary cinema’s most vigorous and engaged filmmakers—not to mention prodigious, having made nearly 20 features in the last ten years—in the spotlight of the Berlinale’s competition. After the commercial failure of Die Sieger, a big screen crime epic, Graf pivoted to focus on television movies, whose verve and density easily put to rest any argument about the cinematic capacity of the small screen. All his TV movies are good, many are great; almost all are unknown outside Germany. Thus a premiere in Berlin is a relatively rare opportunity for an international audience to see a special filmmaker at work.The caveat here is that like Hitchcock and Kubrick before him, and Fincher and Soderbergh now, Graf is obsessed with the idioms of genre cinema, but is also too knowing to master its transparent experience. He...
- 3/2/2021
- MUBI
Four titles have landed on the first edition of the grid.
Dominik Graf’s period drama Fabian – Going To The Dogs has set the early pace on Screen’s Berlin 2021 Competition jury grid, with a score of 3.1.
The result came from seven of the eight critics, and included three “excellent” scores of four stars from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus, Sight & Sound’s Nick James and Screen’s own critic.
The Morning Star’s Rita di Santo and Anton Dolin of Meduza and Film Art awarded it an “average” mark of two stars each.
Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic,...
Dominik Graf’s period drama Fabian – Going To The Dogs has set the early pace on Screen’s Berlin 2021 Competition jury grid, with a score of 3.1.
The result came from seven of the eight critics, and included three “excellent” scores of four stars from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus, Sight & Sound’s Nick James and Screen’s own critic.
The Morning Star’s Rita di Santo and Anton Dolin of Meduza and Film Art awarded it an “average” mark of two stars each.
Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
With a strong showing at this year’s Berlin Film Festival that includes the directorial debut of Daniel Brühl and new works by Maria Schrader and Dominik Graf in competition, German films are set to garner much of the spotlight at the accompanying European Film Market.
Brühl, who is set to reprise his role as the vengeful Helmut Zemo in the upcoming Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” explores the contradictions of present-day Berlin in “Next Door.” The seemingly self-referential story has Brühl playing Daniel, a successful actor living in the city’s Prenzlauer Berg district, who is about to jet off to audition for a role in a superhero movie. His life suddenly changes when he is confronted by a disgruntled neighbor, played by Peter Kurth (“Babylon Berlin”), a victim of gentrification in former East Berlin and one of the many losers of German reunification.
Written by bestselling author Daniel Kehlmann,...
Brühl, who is set to reprise his role as the vengeful Helmut Zemo in the upcoming Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” explores the contradictions of present-day Berlin in “Next Door.” The seemingly self-referential story has Brühl playing Daniel, a successful actor living in the city’s Prenzlauer Berg district, who is about to jet off to audition for a role in a superhero movie. His life suddenly changes when he is confronted by a disgruntled neighbor, played by Peter Kurth (“Babylon Berlin”), a victim of gentrification in former East Berlin and one of the many losers of German reunification.
Written by bestselling author Daniel Kehlmann,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
‘Fabian – Going to the Dogs’ Review: 3-Hour German Bildungsroman Is More Exhilarating Than It Sounds
Germany is on its postwar sickbed, and perched on the edge of self-destruction, in Dominik Graf’s epically sized yet intimately scaled, cracked picture of Weimar Berlin after WWI, and with omens of the next one creeping in. A 178-minute bildungsroman in the true sense, “Fabian – Going to the Dogs,” shot with primarily handheld digital camera and in the boxed-in Academy ratio, While perhaps padding its running time too robustly with strange and often even grotesque side characters, the movie ultimately falls squarely on Tom Schilling’s shoulders, the idealist of the title who chooses falling in love over ambition.
At 32 years old, Jakob Fabian is a 32-year-old war veteran back in the city and rattled by Ptsd, which is somewhat keeping his literary aspirations at bay as he works by day as an ad man for a cigarette company. Based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name,...
At 32 years old, Jakob Fabian is a 32-year-old war veteran back in the city and rattled by Ptsd, which is somewhat keeping his literary aspirations at bay as he works by day as an ad man for a cigarette company. Based on Erich Kästner’s novel of the same name,...
- 3/1/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Though little known in the English-speaking world, Erich Kästner’s slim novel originally translated in 1932 as “Fabian. The Story of a Moralist” is a brilliantly astute rendering of life in Weimar Berlin, straightforward and yet surreal, witty and perverse. To tackle it in cinema would seem like an impossible task, and while Dominik Graf’s “Fabian – Going to the Dogs” is to be commended for getting quite a lot right, the movie is blowsy where the book is succinct, awkwardly paced and portentous where Kästner is consistently rhythmical and unpretentious. Set in a teetering world of dissoluteness and disillusion in which a good man without professional ambition awakens to life’s promise only to have it all torn away, the story has modern resonances that Graf (“The Beloved Sisters” among many others) keenly underlines, and while the film’s core is affectingly developed, the rest tries too hard to expose...
- 3/1/2021
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
In Germany, they call the period just before the rise of Adolf Hitler “the dance on the volcano” — the late 1920s and early 1930s when German society, at least in the big cities like Berlin, seemed open, free, and exciting. When no one seemed to notice they were on the edge of catastrophe.
It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...
It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...
- 2/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In Germany, they call the period just before the rise of Adolf Hitler “the dance on the volcano” — the late 1920s and early 1930s when German society, at least in the big cities like Berlin, seemed open, free, and exciting. When no one seemed to notice they were on the edge of catastrophe.
It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...
It’s at exactly this moment in time — Berlin, 1931 — when Dominik Graf sets his new film, Fabian – Going to the Dogs. Based on the 1931 novel by Erich Kästner, it stars Tom Schilling (Never Look Away) as Jakob Fabian, an ironic idealist ...
- 2/18/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This year’s Berlin International Film Festival will look a bit different this year, with a virtual edition taking place March 1-5 for industry and press, then a public, in-person edition kicking off in June.
The complete lineup has now been unveiled, including Céline Sciamma’s highly-anticipated Portrait of a Lady on Fire follow-up Petite Maman, a surprise new Hong Sang-soo feature, the latest work from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, along with new projects by Radu Jude, Xavier Beauvois, Dominik Graf, Pietro Marcello, Ramon Zürcher & Silvan Zürcher, and more.
Check out each section below.
Competition Tiles
“Albatros” (Drift Away)
France
by Xavier Beauvois
with Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo
“Babardeală cu buclucsau porno balamuc” (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)
Romania/Luxemburg/Croatia/Czech Republic
by Radu Jude
with Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai
“Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde” (Fabian – Going to the Dogs)
Germany
by Dominik Graf
with Tom Schilling,...
The complete lineup has now been unveiled, including Céline Sciamma’s highly-anticipated Portrait of a Lady on Fire follow-up Petite Maman, a surprise new Hong Sang-soo feature, the latest work from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, along with new projects by Radu Jude, Xavier Beauvois, Dominik Graf, Pietro Marcello, Ramon Zürcher & Silvan Zürcher, and more.
Check out each section below.
Competition Tiles
“Albatros” (Drift Away)
France
by Xavier Beauvois
with Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo
“Babardeală cu buclucsau porno balamuc” (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)
Romania/Luxemburg/Croatia/Czech Republic
by Radu Jude
with Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai
“Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde” (Fabian – Going to the Dogs)
Germany
by Dominik Graf
with Tom Schilling,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
New film by Dominik Graf’s is based on 1930s Berlin-set novel of Erich Kästner.
Paris-based Les Films du Losange has boarded world sales on German director Dominik Graf’s 1930s Berlin set drama Fabian, which has been selected for competition in the Berlinale’s two-part 2021 edition.
Graf’s first feature in five years, it is adapted from the 1931 satirical novel by German writer Erich Kästner, best known internationally as the author of the 1929 children’s book Emil And The Detectives.
Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, it stars Tom Schilling, whose credits include Never Look Away, as the...
Paris-based Les Films du Losange has boarded world sales on German director Dominik Graf’s 1930s Berlin set drama Fabian, which has been selected for competition in the Berlinale’s two-part 2021 edition.
Graf’s first feature in five years, it is adapted from the 1931 satirical novel by German writer Erich Kästner, best known internationally as the author of the 1929 children’s book Emil And The Detectives.
Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, it stars Tom Schilling, whose credits include Never Look Away, as the...
- 2/11/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
This week of Berlin International Film Festival announcements comes to a close with the main course – the Competition and Special Screenings programs. Scroll down for the full lists.
The 15-strong Competition – all world premieres – includes titles from filmmakers including Celine Sciamma, Daniel Bruhl and Xavier Beauvois.
Celine Sciamma is following on from her Golden Globe-nominated Portrait Of A Lady On Fire with her next movie, Petite Maman, which only went into production in November; plot details are hush but it is understood to star two eight-year-olds.
Actor-turned-filmmaker Bruhl also plays the protagonist in his directorial debut, Next Door, which centers on a film star and his troublesome neighbor.
Xavier Beauvois, whose credits include the Cannes Grand Prix winner Of Gods And Men and the 2017 film The Guardians, presents his eighth work, Albatros, which follows a police captain whose life goes into a tailspin.
Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude will also present his latest work,...
The 15-strong Competition – all world premieres – includes titles from filmmakers including Celine Sciamma, Daniel Bruhl and Xavier Beauvois.
Celine Sciamma is following on from her Golden Globe-nominated Portrait Of A Lady On Fire with her next movie, Petite Maman, which only went into production in November; plot details are hush but it is understood to star two eight-year-olds.
Actor-turned-filmmaker Bruhl also plays the protagonist in his directorial debut, Next Door, which centers on a film star and his troublesome neighbor.
Xavier Beauvois, whose credits include the Cannes Grand Prix winner Of Gods And Men and the 2017 film The Guardians, presents his eighth work, Albatros, which follows a police captain whose life goes into a tailspin.
Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude will also present his latest work,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor Daniel Bruhl’s directorial debut and new titles from Radu Jude, Celine Sciamma, Hong Sangsoo and Xavier Beauvois are among the 15 competition titles in the Berlin Film Festival, all of which were revealed Thursday.
Five of the titles are from female filmmakers (some of whom are co-directors on titles), on par with last year’s competition, when six of the 18 competition titles were helmed by women.
The festival also revealed the 11 titles in the Berlinale Special strand.
Festival executive director Mariette Rissenbeek introduced the format of this year’s festival, after which artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films selected.
As first revealed by Variety, the festival’s 71st edition will take place in two stages. Industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund will be online March 1-5. Meanwhile, June 9-20 will see a physical summer public event, pandemic permitting.
Explaining the rationale,...
Five of the titles are from female filmmakers (some of whom are co-directors on titles), on par with last year’s competition, when six of the 18 competition titles were helmed by women.
The festival also revealed the 11 titles in the Berlinale Special strand.
Festival executive director Mariette Rissenbeek introduced the format of this year’s festival, after which artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films selected.
As first revealed by Variety, the festival’s 71st edition will take place in two stages. Industry platforms European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund will be online March 1-5. Meanwhile, June 9-20 will see a physical summer public event, pandemic permitting.
Explaining the rationale,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Six series will play in the festival with 10 titles in the Market.
A new anthology series titled This Is Music from directors including Wim Wenders and David Byrne is one of 10 international projects selected for the Co-Pro Series section of the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2021 (March 2-5).
The Berlinale Series has also selected six series to play in the online festival, which runs from March 1-5.
Scroll down for full list of Co-Pro Series, Berlinale Series and Series Market Selects titles
Produced by Norway’s Oslo Pictures, anthology series This Is Music is created by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, who wrote Wenders...
A new anthology series titled This Is Music from directors including Wim Wenders and David Byrne is one of 10 international projects selected for the Co-Pro Series section of the Berlinale Co-Production Market 2021 (March 2-5).
The Berlinale Series has also selected six series to play in the online festival, which runs from March 1-5.
Scroll down for full list of Co-Pro Series, Berlinale Series and Series Market Selects titles
Produced by Norway’s Oslo Pictures, anthology series This Is Music is created by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen, who wrote Wenders...
- 1/26/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the six titles that will take part in the latest edition of Berlinale Series. The shows will screen online during the first week of March when the European Film Market runs, and the team are currently discussing plans for presenting some of the shows during the festival’s planned summer event.
The line-up includes Philly D.A., the strand’s first docuseries, which follows the most controversial District Attorney in the U.S. and will arrive from its premiere at Sundance. Deadline recently revealed that Dogwoof has boarded the project, which comes from Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald.
Latin American TV will be represented for the first time with two titles: Amongst Men (Entre Hombres), an Argentinian HBO production, and The Last Days of Gilda (Os últimos dias de Gilda) from Canal Brazil.
Russell T Davies’ drama set during the AIDS crisis,...
The line-up includes Philly D.A., the strand’s first docuseries, which follows the most controversial District Attorney in the U.S. and will arrive from its premiere at Sundance. Deadline recently revealed that Dogwoof has boarded the project, which comes from Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald.
Latin American TV will be represented for the first time with two titles: Amongst Men (Entre Hombres), an Argentinian HBO production, and The Last Days of Gilda (Os últimos dias de Gilda) from Canal Brazil.
Russell T Davies’ drama set during the AIDS crisis,...
- 1/26/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s Berlinale Series has announced the section’s lineup of six titles.
The TV arm of the festival, which is being held online this year due to the pandemic, said the shows reflect “unconventional and surprising topics, narratives and visual style [that] comprise a mirror of our time.”
Latin American content is represented for the first time with the Argentinian HBO production “Entre hombres” (Amongst Men) and “Os últimos dias de Gilda” (The Last Days of Gilda) from Brazil. “Philly D.A.,” a U.S. production by Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, is the first documentary series to be invited into the program.
Separately, the Berlinale Series Market and Conference, the industry platform which is part of the European Film Market, has announced a newly created special label called “Berlinale Series Market Selects” that highlights series with high commercial potential within the “Berlinale Series Market” screenings.
Berlinale...
The TV arm of the festival, which is being held online this year due to the pandemic, said the shows reflect “unconventional and surprising topics, narratives and visual style [that] comprise a mirror of our time.”
Latin American content is represented for the first time with the Argentinian HBO production “Entre hombres” (Amongst Men) and “Os últimos dias de Gilda” (The Last Days of Gilda) from Brazil. “Philly D.A.,” a U.S. production by Oscar-nominated duo Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, is the first documentary series to be invited into the program.
Separately, the Berlinale Series Market and Conference, the industry platform which is part of the European Film Market, has announced a newly created special label called “Berlinale Series Market Selects” that highlights series with high commercial potential within the “Berlinale Series Market” screenings.
Berlinale...
- 1/26/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s German Film Award nominees for best picture include hard-hitting social dramas, tales of romance and cultural divides, family relationships and musical icons as well as works by a growing number of filmmakers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The German Film Academy, forced to revamp its 70th German Film Awards ceremony due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, will honor the country’s most acclaimed films during a special live TV presentation on April 24.
The German Film Awards ceremony, which in the past aired pre-recorded on Zdf, will be broadcast live for the first time on Ard’s Das Erste, due in part to its remade and shortened presentation. Doing away with its traditional gala event, the show will instead include guest filmmakers, musicians and presenters taking part via video feed from their homes.
Six films are vying for the best picture trophy, nicknamed the Lola, among them Burhan Qurbani’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz,...
The German Film Awards ceremony, which in the past aired pre-recorded on Zdf, will be broadcast live for the first time on Ard’s Das Erste, due in part to its remade and shortened presentation. Doing away with its traditional gala event, the show will instead include guest filmmakers, musicians and presenters taking part via video feed from their homes.
Six films are vying for the best picture trophy, nicknamed the Lola, among them Burhan Qurbani’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz,...
- 4/23/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Dieter Berner’s directs the ambitious new period drama.
Picture Tree International has confirmed the financing and casting on Dieter Berner’s ambitious new period drama, Alma & Oskar, which will begin shooting in June.
The film, set in pre-First World War Vienna and which explores the turbulent relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler and the expressionist artist and enfant terrible Oskar Kokoschka. has been put together as an Austrian (Fillm Ag), German (Wüste Film), Swiss (Turnus Film) and Czech (Dawson Films) coproduction.
In advance of shooting, various distributors are also already aboard the production: Alamode for Germany,...
Picture Tree International has confirmed the financing and casting on Dieter Berner’s ambitious new period drama, Alma & Oskar, which will begin shooting in June.
The film, set in pre-First World War Vienna and which explores the turbulent relationship between the Viennese society Grand Dame Alma Mahler and the expressionist artist and enfant terrible Oskar Kokoschka. has been put together as an Austrian (Fillm Ag), German (Wüste Film), Swiss (Turnus Film) and Czech (Dawson Films) coproduction.
In advance of shooting, various distributors are also already aboard the production: Alamode for Germany,...
- 2/21/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based Picture Tree International (Pti) has acquired global sales rights to Leander Haussmann’s highly anticipated East German laffer “A Stasi Comedy.”
Set in the early 1980s, the film centers on East Germany’s infamous state security service, the Staatssicherheitsdienst or Stasi, and young agent Ludger, played by David Kross, who is sent to infiltrate the counterculture scene in East Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, home to artists, bohemians and free-thinking radicals. Decades later, Ludger is confronted with the possibility of his secret Stasi past coming to light.
Written and directed by Haussmann, “A Stasi Comedy” is the third installment in the celebrated filmmaker’s East German-themed comedy trilogy that began with “Sonnenallee” (“Sun Alley”) in 2000 and followed with “Nva” in 2004.
“After 30 years, it should be finally allowed to laugh about the Stasi,” Haussmann said.
“A Stasi Comedy” is produced by Ufa Fiction in co-production with Constantin Film, which is...
Set in the early 1980s, the film centers on East Germany’s infamous state security service, the Staatssicherheitsdienst or Stasi, and young agent Ludger, played by David Kross, who is sent to infiltrate the counterculture scene in East Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district, home to artists, bohemians and free-thinking radicals. Decades later, Ludger is confronted with the possibility of his secret Stasi past coming to light.
Written and directed by Haussmann, “A Stasi Comedy” is the third installment in the celebrated filmmaker’s East German-themed comedy trilogy that began with “Sonnenallee” (“Sun Alley”) in 2000 and followed with “Nva” in 2004.
“After 30 years, it should be finally allowed to laugh about the Stasi,” Haussmann said.
“A Stasi Comedy” is produced by Ufa Fiction in co-production with Constantin Film, which is...
- 2/17/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Fabian
German director Dominik Graf ends a six year hiatus next year with Fabian, a period piece produced by Felix von Boehm of Lupa Film and Daniel Blum of Zdf. Graf lands Tom Schilling in the lead, with a supporting cast of Saskia Rosendahl. Albrecht Schuch, Eva Medusa Gühne and Meret Becker. Revered for his detective and police television dramas, Graf has twice competed for the Golden Bear in Berlin, with 2002’s A Map of the Heart and his last feature, 2014’s Beloved Sisters. Notably, his participation in the trilogy omnibus Dreileben premiered in Berlin (which included two other segments directed by Christoph Hochhausler and Christian Petzold).…...
German director Dominik Graf ends a six year hiatus next year with Fabian, a period piece produced by Felix von Boehm of Lupa Film and Daniel Blum of Zdf. Graf lands Tom Schilling in the lead, with a supporting cast of Saskia Rosendahl. Albrecht Schuch, Eva Medusa Gühne and Meret Becker. Revered for his detective and police television dramas, Graf has twice competed for the Golden Bear in Berlin, with 2002’s A Map of the Heart and his last feature, 2014’s Beloved Sisters. Notably, his participation in the trilogy omnibus Dreileben premiered in Berlin (which included two other segments directed by Christoph Hochhausler and Christian Petzold).…...
- 1/1/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Constantins’s Us teen drama ‘After Passion’ was a surprise hit with young female audiences.
Cinema-going in Germany saw a slight year-on-year recovery in box-office takings and admissions for the first half of 2019 with admissions rising by 6% and ticket revenues by 5.6%, according to provisional figures collated by ComScore.
In the same period in 2018 German exhibitors had been faced with an almost 17% year-on-year drop in box office and admissions, and 2018 had ended with overall attendance sliding by 13.9% to 105.5 million admissions, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990. Gross box office receipts failed to pass the €1bn threshold for the first time...
Cinema-going in Germany saw a slight year-on-year recovery in box-office takings and admissions for the first half of 2019 with admissions rising by 6% and ticket revenues by 5.6%, according to provisional figures collated by ComScore.
In the same period in 2018 German exhibitors had been faced with an almost 17% year-on-year drop in box office and admissions, and 2018 had ended with overall attendance sliding by 13.9% to 105.5 million admissions, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990. Gross box office receipts failed to pass the €1bn threshold for the first time...
- 7/11/2019
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
What a difference a day makes. Allowing one’s characters to move from narrative point A to narrative point B in the same amount of time it takes for the Earth to spin 360 degrees should be an arbitrary undertaking, like having a film where everyone wears hats or can’t remember the Beatles, but that simple constraint has fired more than a few great filmmaker’s creative engines over the years. Spike Lee used a hot one as a pressure cooker. Linklater seems obsessed with the form. The limitation seems to ease some primal craving for order and patterns. They can also be a lot of fun.
Back in 2012, a charming discovery was added to the species. It was shot in monochrome, nodded to Woody Allen (when that was still a thing people did), bore the auspicious title Oh Boy (released rather bluntly stateside as A Coffee in Berlin), and...
Back in 2012, a charming discovery was added to the species. It was shot in monochrome, nodded to Woody Allen (when that was still a thing people did), bore the auspicious title Oh Boy (released rather bluntly stateside as A Coffee in Berlin), and...
- 7/2/2019
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Last year’s Munich break-out was Eva Trobisch’s ‘All Is Good’ .
The Munich Film Festival is proving to be the place to go to first catch films by rising German directors. All of the 18 titles in the festival’s New German Cinema line-up are world premeires this year and many have attached international sales agents ahead of their launch.
Ilker Catak’s romantic drama I Was, I Am, I Will Be opened the strand on June 28. Danish sales agent Level K took on its first ever German feature when it acquired the the rights to the film just before...
The Munich Film Festival is proving to be the place to go to first catch films by rising German directors. All of the 18 titles in the festival’s New German Cinema line-up are world premeires this year and many have attached international sales agents ahead of their launch.
Ilker Catak’s romantic drama I Was, I Am, I Will Be opened the strand on June 28. Danish sales agent Level K took on its first ever German feature when it acquired the the rights to the film just before...
- 7/2/2019
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
German filmmaker Jan-Ole Gerster made a major splash with his critically acclaimed and award-heavy 2012 debut feature “Oh Boy” (“A Coffee in Berlin”), starring Tom Schilling (“Never Look Away”). In Gerster’s latest film, “Lara,” Corinna Harfouch portrays a woman, who, on her 60th birthday, plans to attend the premiere of piano concerto performed by her estranged son, played by Schilling.
Gerster spoke to Variety about the origins of the project, why Harfouch’s involvement was essential, re-teaming with Schilling, and the significant role of music in the film.
While currently focused on the launch of his new film at home and abroad, Gerster is pursuing as a possible next project an adaptation of Christan Kracht’s best-selling novel “Imperium.” Inspired by a true story, the book follows passionate German nudist August Engelhardt as he travels to German New Guinea in 1902 to set up a coconut farm and commune on a remote South Seas island.
Gerster spoke to Variety about the origins of the project, why Harfouch’s involvement was essential, re-teaming with Schilling, and the significant role of music in the film.
While currently focused on the launch of his new film at home and abroad, Gerster is pursuing as a possible next project an adaptation of Christan Kracht’s best-selling novel “Imperium.” Inspired by a true story, the book follows passionate German nudist August Engelhardt as he travels to German New Guinea in 1902 to set up a coconut farm and commune on a remote South Seas island.
- 7/1/2019
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Of all the ways to begin a movie, few are more cruel than presenting a character such as Lara Jenkins and, before the audience has even gotten the chance to know her, showing her wearily open the window to her depressing German flat, position a chair and prepare to jump. It is Lara’s 60th birthday and, judging from the way it starts, she does not see it as a special occasion. Director Jan-Ole Gerster makes quite the gamble opening “Lara” in such a way, but as the film unfolds, he demonstrates that his intention was never to shock, but to identify with this conflicted character, proceeding to create a portrait of remarkable depth over the span of the day that follows.
A filmmaker once told me that, in his opinion, all movies are mysteries. Audiences go in knowing little or nothing, and they participate as the storyteller slowly reveals...
A filmmaker once told me that, in his opinion, all movies are mysteries. Audiences go in knowing little or nothing, and they participate as the storyteller slowly reveals...
- 7/1/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
‘Toy Story 4’ (Photo credit: Disney/Pixar).
The fourth installment in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise has smashed the opening weekend record for an animated title worldwide, ending a run of sequels and reboots which audiences showed they did not want or need.
Directed by Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 grabbed $244.5 million, beating Incredibles 2‘s $235.8 million, although the $120.9 million domestic debut was only the fourth biggest for the genre, trailing Incredibles 2 ($182 million), Finding Dory ($135 million) and Shrek the Third ($121 million).
It was a buoyant weekend in Oz as Toy Story 4 and Universal/Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets sequel drew kids and families and fans of Indian cinema turned out for Kabir Singh and Shadaa.
However Child’s Play, the remake of the 1988 horror movie about a ghastly voodoo doll named Chucky, found few takers for Roadshow. Among the specialty releases, Sony’s Never Look Away...
The fourth installment in the Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise has smashed the opening weekend record for an animated title worldwide, ending a run of sequels and reboots which audiences showed they did not want or need.
Directed by Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 grabbed $244.5 million, beating Incredibles 2‘s $235.8 million, although the $120.9 million domestic debut was only the fourth biggest for the genre, trailing Incredibles 2 ($182 million), Finding Dory ($135 million) and Shrek the Third ($121 million).
It was a buoyant weekend in Oz as Toy Story 4 and Universal/Illumination’s The Secret Life of Pets sequel drew kids and families and fans of Indian cinema turned out for Kabir Singh and Shadaa.
However Child’s Play, the remake of the 1988 horror movie about a ghastly voodoo doll named Chucky, found few takers for Roadshow. Among the specialty releases, Sony’s Never Look Away...
- 6/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
After making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and receiving the Leoncino d’Oro Agiscuola Award, the first UK trailer has arrived for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s ‘Never Look Away’
‘The Lives of Others’ filmmaker, Henckel von Donnersmarck, makes a bold return to German language filmmaking with two nominations at this year’s Academy Awards® for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography.
The film stars Tom Schilling (Oh Boy), Sebastian Koch (Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl), Paula Beer (Frantz), Saskia Rosendahl (Lore) and Oliver Masucci (Netflix’s Dark).
Also in trailers – Keira Knightley stars in first trailer for ‘Official Secrets’
The film is released in the UK and Ireland on 5 July
Never Look Away Synopsis
Inspired by real events and spanning three eras of German history, the film tells the story of a young art student, Kurt (Tom Schilling) who falls in love with a fellow student,...
‘The Lives of Others’ filmmaker, Henckel von Donnersmarck, makes a bold return to German language filmmaking with two nominations at this year’s Academy Awards® for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography.
The film stars Tom Schilling (Oh Boy), Sebastian Koch (Bridge of Spies, The Danish Girl), Paula Beer (Frantz), Saskia Rosendahl (Lore) and Oliver Masucci (Netflix’s Dark).
Also in trailers – Keira Knightley stars in first trailer for ‘Official Secrets’
The film is released in the UK and Ireland on 5 July
Never Look Away Synopsis
Inspired by real events and spanning three eras of German history, the film tells the story of a young art student, Kurt (Tom Schilling) who falls in love with a fellow student,...
- 6/13/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’re highlighting the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
Like the majority of Lars von Trier films, from the first moments of Antichrist, one will be able to discern if it’s an experience they want to proceed with. For those will to endure its specific unpleasantness, there’s a poetic, affecting exploration of despair at its center. Chaos reigns, indeed. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Apollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller)
On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin embarked on a historic lunar odyssey, successfully landing on the moon and then returning to Earth. Free of talking heads, reenactments, and newly-recorded narration, the new documentary Apollo 11...
Antichrist (Lars von Trier)
Like the majority of Lars von Trier films, from the first moments of Antichrist, one will be able to discern if it’s an experience they want to proceed with. For those will to endure its specific unpleasantness, there’s a poetic, affecting exploration of despair at its center. Chaos reigns, indeed. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Apollo 11 (Todd Douglas Miller)
On July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin embarked on a historic lunar odyssey, successfully landing on the moon and then returning to Earth. Free of talking heads, reenactments, and newly-recorded narration, the new documentary Apollo 11...
- 5/17/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Gold Derby has conducted exclusive video chats with dozens of this year’s Oscar contenders across a wide variety of categories. That includes nine of this year’s nominees for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Will they get a Gold Derby bump when the envelopes are opened on Sunday, February 24? Follow the links below to be taken to their full interviews.
Barry Alexander Brown: Spike Lee‘s longtime editor earned his first nomination in this category for this fact-based drama about an African-American police detective (John David Washington) who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. This film also brought Brown a bid at the Ace Eddie Awards. Before he joined forces with Lee he previously picked up an Oscar nom for Best Documentary Feature for “The War at Home” (1979). (Click here to be taken to his full interview)
See Watch 3 Gold Derby pundits argue over predictions: Thelma Adams,...
Barry Alexander Brown: Spike Lee‘s longtime editor earned his first nomination in this category for this fact-based drama about an African-American police detective (John David Washington) who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. This film also brought Brown a bid at the Ace Eddie Awards. Before he joined forces with Lee he previously picked up an Oscar nom for Best Documentary Feature for “The War at Home” (1979). (Click here to be taken to his full interview)
See Watch 3 Gold Derby pundits argue over predictions: Thelma Adams,...
- 2/21/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Modern Films has snagged U.K. and Ireland rights to “Never Look Away,” the German-language Oscar entry from “The Lives of Others” helmer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
The multi-generational story follows a young art student (Tom Schilling), who falls in love with a fellow student (Paula Beer). Her father (Sebastian Koch), a renowned doctor, disapproves of their relationship and vows to destroy it. Set in Germany, it spans three decades of the country’s history from Nazism through to the Cold War. The central character is loosely based on artist Gerhard Richter.
The three-hour picture, which premiered at the Venice Film festival, recently opened via Sony Pictures Classics. Beta Cinema was the sales agent. Distributor Modern Films plans an event-driven release plan similar to what it did with “Manifesto,” starring Cate Blanchett, and with HBO and Rai’s Italian-language miniseries “My Brilliant Friend.”
Thorsten Ritter of Beta Cinema says it...
The multi-generational story follows a young art student (Tom Schilling), who falls in love with a fellow student (Paula Beer). Her father (Sebastian Koch), a renowned doctor, disapproves of their relationship and vows to destroy it. Set in Germany, it spans three decades of the country’s history from Nazism through to the Cold War. The central character is loosely based on artist Gerhard Richter.
The three-hour picture, which premiered at the Venice Film festival, recently opened via Sony Pictures Classics. Beta Cinema was the sales agent. Distributor Modern Films plans an event-driven release plan similar to what it did with “Manifesto,” starring Cate Blanchett, and with HBO and Rai’s Italian-language miniseries “My Brilliant Friend.”
Thorsten Ritter of Beta Cinema says it...
- 2/19/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
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