Lost generations and other wonders of the world
After screenings at numerous festivals (including Munich, Tribeca, Rotterdam, Sofia, and Istanbul), Seven Days Sunday [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – the debut feature by 33-year-old director Niels Laupert, previously lauded for his work as a short film producer – hits German theatres today.
The film – produced by the director and his two partners at Munich-based Bartl/Laupert/Dierbach Filmproduktion and distributed by Timebandits – transposes a Polish crime story onto a German suburban setting. Two teenagers left to their own devices encourage each other to steal, fight and drink. One evening, the simple phrase "I bet you wouldn’t dare kill someone" changes everything.
Meanwhile, Filmgalerie 451 is launching the phenomenal coming-of-age film Torpedo, written and directed by young, 16-year-old German rebel Helene Hegemann (who appeared in Nicolette Krebitz’s short film contribution to Germany 09 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which was presented at the Berlinale - see review).
This 40-minute production – produced by Credofilm and crowned Best Medium-length Film at the latest Max Ophüls Festival – recounts the feeling of confusion experienced by a recently-orphaned teenage girl (Alice Dwyer). Taken in by her actress aunt (Jule Böwe), she finds herself surrounded by adults who are themselves unstable.
The line-up also includes Arne Sinnwell’s German documentary Willi und die Wunder dieser Welt, which follows children’s TV star Willi Weitzel on his journey around the globe to discover the wonders of the world (distributed by MFA).
RealFiction is releasing French director Claire Denis’ French/German/Belgian co-production 35 Shots of Rum [+see also:
trailer
film profile], presented at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.
The two other titles representing Europe this week are UK/US co-productions: Zack Snyder’s action film Watchmen [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (distributed by Paramount) and the documentary Joy Division by Grant Gee, who after the success of Anton Corbijn’s biopic Control [+see also:
trailer
film profile] looks at the story of the cult band (distributed by MFA).
(Translated from French)
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