SECOND GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL
St. James Cavalier, Valletta      17th - 21st November 2010
Organised by the German-Maltese Circle in collaboration with the German Embassy and the Goethe Institute

 

		Whisky with Vodka       R 16 (Whisky mit Wodka) Director: Andreas Dresen, colour, 108 min., 2009  Actor Otto Kullberg is a man women love and men like. Sometimes he drinks a little too much. When his excessive drinking leads him to miss a day on the set of his new film and it seems like he’s about to blow the whole thing, a younger actor is hired to shoot all the scenes a second time as a backup solution: Leo the producer is not willing to lose any money. Otto, a man of fast wit and driven by his need to be at the centre of attention, finds himself forced to assert his role on the set, in a 1920’s costume to decide between the love for two women, and to redefine his role in his own life. Many films ago, there was a love story between Otto and his partner Bettina, who is now the director's wife. Does the distinction between film and reality fade away? In the duel between the actors on set, no one wants to be the loser. Everyone loves the truth and everybody lies.  Not to mention, you really shouldn’t mix whisky and vodka. Wednesday, 17th November at 19.00hrs Friday,           19th November at 21.00hrs
		Jerichow      R 16 Director: Christian Petzold, colour, 93 min., 2008 Nominated for the German Film Award 2009  Off the beaten path of life, three people stumble into a fateful encounter. Thomas, young and strong, has been dishonorably discharged from the army. Ali, an affable Turkish businessman, has seen some hard times but now his primary concern is making sure the employees of his snack bar don’t cheat on him. Laura, an attractive woman with a dark past, seems to find refuge in the shadows of her marriage to Ali. Jerichow is a love-triangle in which yearning evaporates into even bigger dreams. This drama unfolds on the country roads in desolate northeast Germany, where thick forests suddenly end on cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea. The story is a classic cinematic constellation but with a daring new interpretation: caught between guilt and freedom, between passion and reason, there are wishes whose fulfillment can only mean escape. Thursday, 18th November at 19.00hrs Saturday, 20th November at 21.15hrs
		Storm        R 12 (Sturm) Director: Hans-Christian Schmid, colour, 105 min., 2009 German Film Award 2010 (Best Film: Silver) Nominated for the LUX Award 2010 Hannah Maynard, a prosecutor at the tribunal in The Hague, is leading a trial against Goran Duric, who is accused of the deportation and killing of Bosnian-Muslim civilians in a small town in what is now the Republika Srpska. When a key witness is ensnared in the contradictions of his testimony, the court sends a delegation to Bosnia to get a definitive picture of the events on site. Doubts as to the witness' credibility are confirmed. Shortly afterwards, he commits suicide. For Hannah, the case is not yet lost. Hoping to uncover new findings, she travels to the witness' burial in Sarajevo and meets his sister Mira. Hannah senses that Mira has more to say about the defendant than she is willing to admit, but she is afraid to face up to the past and endanger the future she has built up with her family in Germany after the war. Hannah finally manages to win her trust and convinces her to testify in The Hague. Shortly before the critical hearing, Duric's defence tries to have Mira's testimony disallowed and finds unexpected support from the side of the judiciary. Hannah realizes that her opponents are not only to be found at the dock, but also among her own ranks. Friday,   19th November at 19.00hrs Sunday, 21st November at 21.00hrs
		A Year ago in Winter      R 16     (Im Winter ein Jahr) - based on the novel "The Aftermath" by Scott Campbell Director: Caroline Link (Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003), colour, 129 min., 2008 Bavarian Film Prize 2009 (Best Director & Best Newcomer Actress) German Film Award 2009 (Best Film: Silver, Best Score) A grieving woman commissions an artist to paint a portrait of her children: her 22 year-old daughter, and most surprisingly her 19 year-old son, who recently died in a tragic accident. As he struggles to perfect his portrait, the stormy interaction between artist and subjects brings forth the intense psychological state of a complex family. A powerful story in which the tragic loss of a loved one becomes the catalyst for each family member to rediscover themselves and redefine their relationships. Academy Award-winning German film maker Caroline Link's latest work is a compelling, evenly-paced psychodrama of a family struggling to come to terms with death.   Wednesday, 17th November at 21.00hrs Saturday,      20th November at 19.00hrs
		Romy - The Film     R PG Special thanks to PHOENIX FILM, Berlin   Director: Torsten C. Fischer, colour, 105 min., TV-Movie 2009 Magnolia Award Shanghai 2010, Best Director / Best Screenplay  “I must always go the most extreme, even if it’s not good. I love going to the limits of the possible, professionally as in my private life. I regret nothing” – Romy Schneider. Romy – The Film , depicts the most important events and passages in the life of legendary actress Romy Schneider, a life that was lived both passionately and intensively and is still fascinating to this very day, nearly 30 years after her untimely death in Paris in 1982 at the age of 43. Romy Schneider was one of the most beautiful and intelligent actresses of her generation and hired by some of the greatest directors of her time. Yet, blessed as she was in her professional career, her personal life was marked by a series of tragedies and her unhappy relationship with French actor Alain Delon. Award-winning actress Jessica Schwarz portraits in this first ever biographical feature film about Romy Schneider the myth and reality of this celebrated and sought-after actress, and the sad reality of a woman who achieved such great success and yet searched unceasingly for the happiness and love that were to elude her. Thursday, 18th November at 21.00 hrs Sunday,    21st November at 19.00 hrs
		Hands off Mississippi      R U  (Hände Weg von Mississippi) - Family Film Director: Detlev Buck, colour, 98 min., 2007 Bavarian Film Prize 2009 German Film Award 2007 (Best Children's Film) With great expectations, ten-year old Emma visits her grandmother Dolly in the countryside during her vacations. But when she arrives, Emma learns that their old neighbour Klipperbusch has passed away – and his greedy nephew Albert is already swift to rebuild the inherited estate to make the most money out of it. Thus, anything he does not need in his plans has got to go without further ado. Nevertheless, Emma manages to save Klipperbusch's beloved mare Mississippi from the slaughterhouse as she persuades her grandmother to buy the horse from Albert. Now, Emma is the proud owner of a horse. But to her great astonishment, Albert one day comes over and wants Mississippi back. Emma and her friends are more than sure that Albert is up to no good. This enchanting story for the whole family is based on the acclaimed novel by Cornelia Funke and was filmed in one of the most unspoiled regions in Germany, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a little paradise, where beautiful nature is kept a priority. Saturday, 20th November at 16.30 hrs Sunday,    21st November at 16.30 hrs
		All films are in German with subtitles in English
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Booking open as from October 2010  Tickets at € 3.00 from St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Valletta

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