05/12/2008

Following the great success of the previous years, German Films and the Goethe Institute have kicked off the seventh edition of the Festival of German Films in Moscow (December 4-8). Afterwards, the festival will also be held in St. Petersburg (December 6-14) and for the first time in Novosibirsk (December 12-17) as well.

The Moscow programme opened with The Wave [+see also:
trailer
film profile], presented by director Dennis Gansel and actress Jennifer Ulrich. Both will also attend the opening of the St. Petersburg event.

Marco Kreuzpaintner’s Krabat [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will open Novosibirsk on December 12, in the presence of the actors Robert Stadlober and Hanno Koffler.

The Wave will be released theatrically in Russia during the festival by Premium Film/Central Partnership while Krabat will open in 2009 through Voliga. Festival films Cherry Blossoms - Hanami [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Doris Doerrie and Cloud 9 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Andreas Dresen have also been picked up for Russia, by distributor Kino Bez Graniz.

Other filmmakers travelling to Russia with their films are Brigitte Bertele (A Hero's Welcome), Christian Schwochow (November Child), Oezguer Yildirim (Chiko [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Alexandra Westmeier (Alone In Four Walls), as well as the actress Anna Maria Muehe (November Child, Family Rules! [+see also:
trailer
film profile]).

Also programmed are the documentary Eye to Eye: All About German Film by Michael Althen and Hans Helmut Prinzler as well as children's film Moonbeam Bear and his Friends by Michael Maurus and Thomas Bodenstein.

The festival's partners are the German Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Ministry of Culture. Air Berlin and VW are festival sponsors.

The full programme can be found here.