Moscow German Film Festival gets off to a tough start

by Bénédicte Prot

06/12/2006 - For its fifth edition, the Moscow German Film Festival – which begins today and is organised in collaboration with German Films – has chosen an opening film that combines pitiless realism and artistic elegance.

Tough Enough [trailer] by Detlev Buck – scripted by Gregor Tessnow and Croatia’s Zoran Drvenkar – centres on a young boy, Michael Polischka (David Kross), and his mother Miriam (Jenny Elvers). Kicked out by the mother’s lover, the Polischkas have to leave their well-to-do neighbourhood and start from scratch in the rough city outskirts.

Produced by Claus Boje, Michael André (Kebab Connection) and Andreas Schreitmüller (Go for Zucker [trailer], The Free Will) for Boje Buck, the film’s screening at Moscow will be attended by its director, actress and Boje.

International sales of the three-time Lola [German Film Prize] winner are being handled by The Match Factory.

Other artists who will present their films until December 10 are: Martina Gedeck will present EFA winner The Lives of Others [trailer, film focus] (sales: Beta Cinema); Stefan Krohmer, his Summer ‘04 [trailer] (see article, sales: Bavaria Film International); and director Hans Steinbichler will present his Winter Journey [trailer] (Beta Cinema).

Moscow audiences will also have a chance to discover Andreas Dresen’s delightful Summer in Berlin [trailer] (Telepool), German box office hit The White Masai [trailer] by Hermine Huntgeburth (Beta Cinema), as well as festival favourite Eden by Michael Hofmann (The Match Factory).

(Translated from French)