email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

FESTIVALS Russia / Germany

German Films offers Moscow an entertaining pilgrimage

by 

- While the Russian capital is hosting ArtDocFest, German Films is organising its annual festival, with an emphasis on crowd pleasers

German Films offers Moscow an entertaining pilgrimage
I’m Off Then. Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago by Julia von Heinz

Russia is a great territory for "crowd pleasers": Til Schweiger scored a major box-office success there with Guardians [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and Head Full of Honey [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and Bora Dagtekin’s Suck Me Shakespeer [+see also:
trailer
making of
interview: Jella Haase
film profile
]
guaranteed full houses in 2014 and 2015 at the Festival of German Films in Moscow. This year, this annual event, taking place from 30 November to 5 December, will open with Hape Kerkeling's experiences during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, I’m Off Then. Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
by Julia von Heinz, in the presence of the director herself. Beyond this local hit (which sold over 1.9 million tickets home), German Films is presenting another 11 feature-length titles (including a children’s film and two documentaries); three shorts and the usual Next Generation short films showcase.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

The selection includes several commercial successes fresh out of their national theatrical runs, such as Fatih Akin’s Tschick [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, accompanied by its two young lead actors, or the FIPRESCI and LUX Prize’s film of the year, also chosen for the closing of the Moscow festival: Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile
]
, which posted sensational box-office figures in Germany as well as in France, amongst other countries, and will be released in the USA in December.

The Russian public will also be able to discover Combat Girls [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jella Haase
film profile
]
’ director David Wnendt’s Look Who’s Back [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Christian Zübert’s One Breath [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Florian David Fitz’s The Most Beautiful Day [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, Sven Taddicken’s Original Bliss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sven Taddicken
film profile
]
, Good Bye Lenin! [+see also:
trailer
interview: Wolfgang Becker
film profile
]
’s Wolfgang Becker’s Me and Kaminski [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Akiz’ Der Nachtmahr [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, and Lars Kraume’s The People vs. Fritz Bauer [+see also:
trailer
interview: Lars Kraume
film profile
]

The two documentaries on the programme are Annekatrin Hendel’s Fassbinder [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Annekatrin Hendel
film profile
]
and Irene Langemann’s Pavlensky – Many and the Might. Not to forget Dominik Wessely’s children’s film Nelly’s Adventure

The Festival of German Films will again be held at the same time as the ArtDocFest in Moscow, with German Films supporting the participation of the German titles on the programme. Langemann’s above mentioned work on the Russian political artist Petr Pavlensky (as a free man and while in jail) will in fact be shown at both events with the director in attendance, and has been selected as the opening film for ArtDocFest.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy